How to write 中 (zhōng, “within”)
中, an HSK 1 character, is read zhōng for “within” and “middle”, and also zhòng (“to hit”). As an overlapping character it splits into 口 (“mouth”), strokes 1–3; 丨 (“line”, the radical), stroke 4, written the first part first. On its own it is an HSK 3 word; it also forms 中午 (“noon”), 中国 (“China”) and 中学 (“middle school”). Japanese reads it chuu, “in”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- zhōng, zhòng
- Strokes
- 4
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 丨 (“line”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Vertical ㇑top leftdownwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 4 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| zhōng first tone | within; among; in; middle; center; while (doing sth); during; (bound form) China; Chinese; (dialect) OK; all right | — | 中午 中国 中学 中文 |
| zhòng fourth tone | to hit (a target); to be struck by (a bullet, illness etc); to win (a prize or lottery) | — | — |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 471 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 中
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中 | zhōng | within; among HSK 3 |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon; midday HSK 1 |
| 中国 中國 | Zhōngguó | China HSK 1 |
| 中学 中學 | zhōngxué | middle school HSK 1 |
| 中文 | Zhōngwén | Chinese language HSK 1 |
| 中学生 中學生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student HSK 1 |
| 高中 | gāozhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高级中学 (gāojízhōngxué)) HSK 2 |
| 中间 中間 | zhōngjiān | the middle; the inside HSK 3 |
| 初中 | chūzhōng | junior high school (abbr. for 初级中学 (chūjízhōngxué)) HSK 3 |
| 中年 | zhōngnián | middle age HSK 4 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Contain it:
HSK 1, in list order: