中 (zhōng): (bound form) China, Chinese, surname Zhong, within, among, in
中 (zhōng) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) china.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (structural) and 丨 (structural). It ranks #14 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 中 a line 丨 through the center of a box 口. Its radical form 丨 (line) appears in many related characters such as 个 (gè, (classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier)), 丰 (fēng, luxuriant), 临 (lín, to face).
Definitions
- (bound form) China
- Chinese
- surname Zhong
- within
- among
- in
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA line 丨 through the center of a box 口
Decomposition: ⿻口丨 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 中 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 中
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 其中noun | qí zhōng | among | 4 |
| 中心noun | zhōng xīn | center | 5 |
| 高中noun | gāo zhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学) | 2 |
| 中国noun | zhōng guó | China | 1 |
| 集中verb/adjective | jí zhōng | to concentrate | 5 |
| 中间noun | zhōng jiān | the middle | 3 |
| 之中noun | zhī zhōng | inside | 4 |
| 当中noun | dāng zhōng | among | 5 |
| 中央noun | zhōng yāng | central | 6 |
| 空中noun/adjective | kōng zhōng | in the sky | 5 |
| 中午noun | zhōng wǔ | noon | 1 |
| 中学noun | zhōng xué | middle school | 1 |
| 中毒verb | zhòng dú | to be poisoned | 6 |
| 中断verb | zhōng duàn | to cut short | 6 |
| 从中adverb | cóng zhōng | from among them | 4 |
| 中年noun | zhōng nián | middle age | 4 |
| 中文noun | zhōng wén | Chinese language | 1 |
| 初中noun | chū zhōng | junior high school (abbr. for 初級中學|初级中学) | 3 |
| 中奖verb | zhòng jiǎng | to win a prize (in a lottery etc) | 6 |
| 中等adjective | zhōng děng | medium | 6 |
| 中餐noun | zhōng cān | lunch | 4 |
| 中介noun | zhōng jiè | to act as intermediary | 5 |
| 看中verb | kàn zhòng | to have a preference for | 6 |
| 中期noun | zhōng qī | middle (of a period of time) | 5 |
| 期中noun | qī zhōng | interim | 4 |
| 中学生noun | zhōng xué shēng | middle-school student | 1 |
| 中华民族proper-noun | zhōng huá mín zú | the Chinese nation | 5 |
| 中暑noun/verb | zhòng shǔ | to suffer heat exhaustion | 6 |
| 中旬noun | zhōng xún | middle third of a month | 6 |
| 中级adjective | zhōng jí | middle level (in a hierarchy) | 5 |
| 中外noun | zhōng wài | Sino-foreign | 5 |
| 中医noun | zhōng yī | traditional Chinese medical science | 5 |
| 中华noun | zhōng huá | Zhonghua, historical and cultural term for China, often used to denote Chinese civilization and identity (as in 中華文化|... | 5 |
| 中药noun | zhōng yào | traditional Chinese medicine | 5 |
中 appears in 127 compound words: 67 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 6 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 中 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (57)
(idiom) to deliberately create obstacles; to obstruct from behind the scenes; to throw a wrench in the works
lit. candle in the wind (idiom); fig. (of sb's life) feeble; hanging on a thread
to see only part of the big picture; to have only a limited view of something
to advance or retreat, each has its rules (idiom from Zhuangzi); many translations are possible
lit. candle in the wind (idiom); fig. (of sb's life) feeble; hanging on a thread
to see only part of the big picture; to have only a limited view of something
to advance or retreat, each has its rules (idiom from Zhuangzi); many translations are possible
Showing 12 of 57 idioms containing 中.
Example Sentences
中国队在昨晚的比赛中表现出色，最终以三比一战胜了对手。
Zhōngguó duì zài zuówǎn de bǐsài zhōng biǎoxiàn chūsè, zuìzhōng yǐ sān bǐ yī zhànshèng le duìshǒu.
The Chinese team performed excellently in last night's match, ultimately defeating their opponent three to one.
春节不打烊,广州交投集团中欧班列预计发运9列、货值..
chūn jié bù dǎ 烊 , guǎng zhōu jiāo tóu jí tuán zhōng ōu bān liè yù jì fā yùn liè huò zhí . .
The Spring Festival is not closed, Guangzhou Jiaotou Group is expected to ship 9 trains, the value of ...
你还是曾经那个少年!苏翊鸣斩获中国队首金
nǐ hái shì céng jīng nā gě shǎo nián ! sū 翊 míng zhǎn huò zhōng guó duì shǒu jīn
You're still the same teenager! Su Yiming wins China's first gold.
冬奥会|全天综合:中国速滑再迎突破 中井亚美领跑花..
dōng ào huì quán tiān zèng gě zhōng guó sù huá zài yíng tū pò zhōng jǐng yà měi lǐng pǎo huā . .
Winter Olympics|All Day Roundup: China's speed skating breaks through again, and Ami Nakai leads the way in flower...
多国媒体:春晚人形机器人表演展现中国人工智能飞速发..
duō guó méi tī chūn wǎn rén xíng jī qì rén biǎo yǎn zhǎn xiàn zhōng guó rén gōng zhì néng fēi sù fā . .
Multinational media: Spring Festival Gala humanoid robot performance shows China's rapid development of artificial intelligence...
新春走军营丨北部战区陆军某边防旅巡逻艇中队守望北疆..
xīn chūn zǒu jūn yíng 丨 běi bù zhàn ōu lù jūn mǒu biān fáng lǚ xún luó tǐng zhōng duì shǒu wàng běi jiāng . .
The new spring walk military camp丨Army in the northern theater of war a border guard brigade patrol boat squadron watch over the northern border ...
你是中国人还是日本人？
Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén háishi Rìběnrén?
Are you Chinese or Japanese?
你赞成他在书中说的话吗？
Nǐ zànchéng tā zài shū zhōng shuō dehuà ma?
Do you agree with what he says in the book?
汤姆今天要留在家中吗？
Tāngmǔ jīntiān yào liú zài jiā zhōng ma?
Does Tom have to stay home today?
您什么时候来到中国的？
Nín shénmeshíhou láidào Zhōngguó de?
When did you come to China?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 中 (zhōng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 中 have?
What is the radical of 中?
What are the components of 中?
What are common words containing 中?
What characters sound the same as 中 (zhōng)?
Is 中 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 中 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.