All about the kanji, part 11: 中

Among these most frequent kanji, there are still many whose shape suggests its meaning. 中 (on:　ちゅう, kun: あた, うち or なか) means 'middle' or 'inside'. But just as in English, the word can be used in many ways:

• 人中 (ひとなか) means 'society, company, the world'
• 中でも (なかでも) means 'among others' or 'above all else'
• 中国 (ちゅうごく) means China, remember?
• 中日 (ちゅうにち) is a frequent abbrevation for 'China and Japan', while 日中 (にっちゅう) means 'during the day'
• 中年 (ねんじゅう) means middle age, midlife

Check back in the previous posts for a few more compounds using 中.