Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 3
中 middle, inside
- Meaning
- middle, inside
- On reading
- チュウ
- Kun reading
- なか
Memory hook
A box with a line driven straight through the centre. チュウ in compounds, なか on its own.
Words that use 中
中
なか
inside
中学校
ちゅうがっこう
middle school
How to write 中
Stroke order · 4 strokes
1
2
3
4
- 1. The vertical on the left.
- 2. Horizontal across the middle, then turn down on the right side.
- 3. The horizontal across the middle.
- 4. The vertical through the centre.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
中 is taught on day 10 of the kanji course, alongside 間 外, with two writing passes and a short quiz.