Onyomi: チュウ · Kunyomi: あた.る, うち, なか · Meanings: center, in, inside, mean, middle
Kanji for center, in, inside, mean, middle
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The kanji 中 originated as an ancient pictograph of a vertical line passing through the middle of a box or circle. In oracle bone script, it depicted the idea of piercing or marking the exact center of something enclosed. This simple yet powerful image came to represent the concept of “middle,” “center,” or “inside.” It embodies the balance point — neither above nor below, neither left nor right — the space where everything meets in harmony. Over centuries, it evolved into the modern form 中, still carrying the sense of being at the heart of something.
Shows a line running through the middle of a box — the visual symbol of the center or inside. 中 expresses balance, the midpoint, or being within something.
This kanji declares: a line cuts straight through the center — 中 means middle, inside, the balanced point where everything meets.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 中 | ちゅう | medium (size), average (grade, level, etc.), middle | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 中 | なか | inside, interior | common JLPT-N5 Noun |
| 内 | うち | inside, within | common JLPT-N4 JLPT-N3 Noun, Adverb (fukushi) |
| 中 | じゅう | (all) through (e.g. the night), throughout (e.g. the year), all ... long | common Suffix |
| 中 | チュン | red dragon tile | Noun |
| 中学校 | ちゅうがっこう | junior high school, middle school, lower secondary school | common JLPT-N4 Noun |
| 昼食 | ちゅうしょく | lunch, midday meal | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 中心 | ちゅうしん | center, centre, middle, heart, core, focus, pivot, emphasis, balance | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 中世 | ちゅうせい | Middle Ages (in Japan esp. the Kamakura and Muromachi periods), medieval times, mediaeval times | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 中年 | ちゅうねん | middle-age, middle age, midlife, one's middle years | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |