See also: 𝌆, Φ, Ф, and
U+4E2D, 中
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E2D

[U+4E2C]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+4E2E]

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han characterEdit

(Kangxi radical 2, +3, 4 strokes, cangjie input 中 (L), four-corner 50006, composition)

Derived charactersEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • KangXi: page 79, character 3
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 73
  • Dae Jaweon: page 158, character 6
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 28, character 10
  • Unihan data for U+4E2D

ChineseEdit

simp. and trad.
alternative forms 𠁦
𠁧
𠁩
𠔈
𠔗
 
Wikipedia has articles on:
  • (Written Standard Chinese?)
  • (Cantonese)
  • (Gan)

Glyph originEdit

Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming) Libian (compiled in Qing)
Bronze inscriptions Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Shizhoupian script Ancient script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts Clerical script
                       




References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Pictogram (象形) – a flagpole. Based on archaeological evidence, the middle box has been interpreted as a drum (建鼓). This flagpole with a drum was placed in the center of a field to gather people and to detect the direction of the wind. In addition, the pronunciation of (OC *tuŋ, *tuŋs) is reminiscent of the beating of a drum.

Shuowen interprets the character as a vertical stroke passing through the center of , indicating the center.

It has also been interpreted as an arrow in the center of a target.

EtymologyEdit

“Middle; centre” (Pronunciation 1) > “to hit the centre; to attain” (Pronunciation 2).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *t/duŋ. Cognate with Tibetan གཞུང (gzhung, middle, center).

Related to:

  • (OC *tuŋ, *tuŋs, “middle; inner garment; inner feelings”);
  • (OC *duŋs, “second (of the brothers or months)”).

Pronunciation 1Edit


Note:
  • chûng, zung1 - literary;
  • tûng, dung4 - vernacular.
  • Jin
  • Min Bei
  • Note:
    • dé̤ng - literary;
    • dô̤ng - vernacular.
  • Min Dong
  • Note:
    • dṳ̆ng - literary;
    • dŏng - vernacular.
  • Min Nan
  • Note:
    • Quanzhou:
      • tiong - literary;
      • tng - vernacular (limited, e.g. 中秋);
      • teng - vernacular (in place names, e.g. 田中, 湖中);
      • thang - vernacular (limited).
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: dang1 / dong1 / diong1
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tang / tong / tiong
    • Sinological IPA (key): /taŋ³³/, /toŋ³³/, /tioŋ³³/
  • Note:
    • dang1 - vernacular;
    • dong1/diong1 - literary (diong1 - Chaoyang).
  • Wu
  • Xiang

    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location
    Mandarin Beijing /ʈ͡ʂuŋ⁵⁵/
    Harbin /ʈ͡ʂuŋ⁴⁴/
    Tianjin /t͡suŋ²¹/
    Jinan /ʈ͡ʂuŋ²¹³/
    Qingdao /ʈ͡ʂəŋ²¹³/
    Zhengzhou /ʈ͡ʂuŋ²⁴/
    Xi'an /p͡fəŋ²¹/
    Xining /ʈ͡ʂuə̃⁴⁴/
    Yinchuan /ʈ͡ʂuŋ⁴⁴/
    Lanzhou /p͡fə̃n³¹/
    Ürümqi /ʈ͡ʂuŋ⁴⁴/
    Wuhan /t͡soŋ⁵⁵/
    Chengdu /t͡soŋ⁵⁵/
    Guiyang /t͡soŋ⁵⁵/
    Kunming /ʈ͡ʂoŋ⁴⁴/
    Nanjing /ʈ͡ʂoŋ³¹/
    Hefei /ʈ͡ʂəŋ²¹/
    Jin Taiyuan /t͡suəŋ¹¹/
    Pingyao /t͡suŋ¹³/
    Hohhot /t͡sũŋ³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /t͡soŋ⁵³/
    Suzhou /t͡soŋ⁵⁵/
    Hangzhou /t͡soŋ³³/
    Wenzhou /t͡ɕoŋ³³/
    Hui Shexian /t͡sʌ̃³¹/
    Tunxi /t͡san¹¹/
    Xiang Changsha /ʈ͡ʂoŋ³³/
    Xiangtan /ʈ͡ʂən³³/
    Gan Nanchang /t͡suŋ⁴²/
    Hakka Meixian /tuŋ⁴⁴/ ~心
    /t͡suŋ⁴⁴/ ~間
    Taoyuan /tuŋ²⁴/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /t͡soŋ⁵³/
    Nanning /t͡suŋ⁵⁵/
    Hong Kong /t͡suŋ⁵⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /tiɔŋ⁵⁵/
    Fuzhou (Min Dong) /tyŋ⁴⁴/
    Jian'ou (Min Bei) /tœyŋ⁵⁴/
    /tœyŋ³³/ ~奬
    Shantou (Min Nan) /toŋ³³/
    /taŋ³³/
    Haikou (Min Nan) /toŋ²³/

    Rime
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Initial () (9)
    Final () (2)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /ʈɨuŋ/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /ʈiuŋ/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /ȶiuŋ/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /ʈuwŋ/
    Li
    Rong
    /ȶiuŋ/
    Wang
    Li
    /ȶĭuŋ/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /ȶi̯uŋ/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    zhōng
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    zung1
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    zhōng
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ trjuwng ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*truŋ/
    English center

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 1/2
    No. 17407
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*tuŋ/

    DefinitionsEdit

    1. middle; center
        ―  zhōng  ―  to be placed in the middle
        ―  Huázhōng  ―  Central China
    2. medium; intermediary
        ―  zhōngxíng  ―  medium-size; mid-size
      夾克尺碼 [MSC, trad.]
      夹克尺码 [MSC, simp.]
      Zhè jiàn jiākè yǒu sān ge chǐmǎ: xiǎo, zhōng, dà. [Pinyin]
      You can get the jacket in three sizes - small, medium and large.
    3. within; among; in
        ―  shuǐ zhōng  ―  in the water
      我们一个15女孩 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
      Wǒmen zhōngjiān yǒu yīge 15 suì de nǚhái. [Pinyin]
      A 15-year-old girl was among us.
      事故受傷事故受伤  ―  Tā zài shìgù zhōng shòushāng.  ―  He was injured in the accident.
    4. while; in the process of; during; in the middle of
      發展國家发展国家  ―  fāzhǎn zhōng guójiā  ―  developing countries
      網頁正在建設网页正在建设  ―  Wǎngyè zhèngzài jiànshè zhōng.  ―  The website is under construction.
    5. to be fit for
        ―  zhōngyòng  ―  to be useful
        ―  zhōngtīng  ―  pleasant to the ear
    6. heart; innermost being
    7. intermediary
    8. (dialectal) all right; OK
    9. Short for 中國中国 (Zhōngguó, “China; Chinese”).
        ―  zhōng  ―  traditional Chinese medicine
      關係关系  ―  Zhōng Měi guānxì  ―  China–United States relation
    10. Short for 中學中学 (zhōngxué, “middle school”). Used only in the abbreviation of the name.
        ―  Sān Zhōng  ―  No.3 Middle School
    11. 1st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "the center" (𝌆)
    12. a surname

    SynonymsEdit

    • (China):

    CompoundsEdit

    Pronunciation 2Edit


    Note:
    • tiòng - literary;
    • tèng - vernacular;
    • thàng - vernacular (limited).
    Note:
    • dong3 - literary;
    • dêng3 - vernacular.
  • Wu
  • Xiang

  • Rime
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Initial () (9)
    Final () (2)
    Tone (調) Departing (H)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division () III
    Fanqie
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang
    /ʈɨuŋH/
    Pan
    Wuyun
    /ʈiuŋH/
    Shao
    Rongfen
    /ȶiuŋH/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank
    /ʈuwŋH/
    Li
    Rong
    /ȶiuŋH/
    Wang
    Li
    /ȶĭuŋH/
    Bernard
    Karlgren
    /ȶi̯uŋH/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex
    zhòng
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex
    zung3
    BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)
    zhòng
    Middle
    Chinese
    ‹ trjuwngH ›
    Old
    Chinese
    /*truŋ-s/
    English hit the center

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character
    Reading # 2/2
    No. 17410
    Phonetic
    component
    Rime
    group
    Rime
    subdivision
    0
    Corresponding
    MC rime
    Old
    Chinese
    /*tuŋs/

    DefinitionsEdit

    1. to hit the mark; to be correct; to be successful
      導彈成功目標 [MSC, trad.]
      导弹成功目标 [MSC, simp.]
      dǎodàn chénggōng jī zhòng mùbiāo [Pinyin]
      The missile successfully hit the target.
        ―  Zhēn ràng tā shuō zhòng le.  ―  He turns out to be correct.
    2. to be hit by; to suffer; to be affected by
        ―  zhòngshǔ  ―  to suffer a heat stroke
      試圖肩膀 [MSC, trad.]
      试图肩膀 [MSC, simp.]
      Tā shìtú pá zǒu shí jiānbǎng zhòngqiāng le. [Pinyin]
      As he tried to crawl away, he was hit in the shoulder.
      肺炎  ―  zhòng le fèiyán.  ―  He has contracted pneumonia.
    3. to win (a prize, a lottery)
      樂透乐透  ―  zhòng lètòu  ―  win a lottery
      六合彩 [Cantonese]  ―  zung3 zo2 luk6 hap6 coi2 [Jyutping]  ―  won the lottery
    SynonymsEdit
    • (Singapore Hokkien) (tio̍h)

    CompoundsEdit

    DescendantsEdit

    Sino-Xenic ():

    Others:

    • Vietnamese: đúng (correct)
    • Japanese: (チュン) (chun, red dragon (mahjong tile))

    JapaneseEdit

     
    Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia ja

    KanjiEdit

    (grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    ReadingsEdit

    CompoundsEdit

    Etymology 1Edit

    Kanji in this term
    なか
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi
    For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
    なか
    [noun] : inside
    [noun] : middle
    [noun] : among (a group or mass)
    [noun] : during (time)
    (This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

    Etymology 2Edit

    Kanji in this term
    ちゅう
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    From Middle Chinese (MC ʈɨuŋ).

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (ちゅう) (chū

    1. middle, medium
      (だい)(ちゅう)(しょう)
      dai chū shō
      large, medium and small
    2. average; neither good nor poor
      (ちゅう)()()()
      chū no dekibae
      an average performance
    3. during; being in the process of doing
    4. second volume of a three volume set

    AffixEdit

    (ちゅう) (chū

    1. China or Chinese; Sino- (prefix)
      (にっ)(ちゅう)(かん)(けい)
      Nitchū kankei
      Sino-Japanese relations

    SuffixEdit

    (ちゅう) (-chū

    1. being in the process of doing
      ダウンロード(ちゅう)
      daunrōdo-chū
      downloading; download in progress
      メンテ(ちゅう)
      mente-chū
      currently in maintenance
      インストール(ちゅう)
      insutōru-chū
      installing
      準備(じゅんび)(ちゅう)
      junbichū
      currently in preparation

    Etymology 3Edit

    Kanji in this term
    じゅう
    Grade: 1
    on’yomi

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from a later Chinese reading, sound shift, or rendaku?”)

    PronunciationEdit

    SuffixEdit

    (じゅう) (-jūぢゆう (dyū)?

    1. during, in the course of, throughout
      ()(かい)(じゅう)
      sekai
      throughout the world
      (からだ)(じゅう)
      karada
      throughout the body
    2. all over, everywhere

    Usage notesEdit

    The distinction between じゅう () and ちゅう (chū) can be somewhat confusing: じゅう () means throughout, in all places, as in 一日中 (ichinichijū, all day long) or 体中 (karadajū, throughout the body), while ちゅう (chū) means within, but not everywhere, as in 授業中 (jugyōchū, in class, during class). Contrast “I worked on this all day long” with “I worked on this in class (but not necessarily for the entire time)”.

    Etymology 4Edit

    Kanji in this term
    うち
    Grade: 1
    kun’yomi

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Alternative formsEdit

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (うち) (uchi

    1. inside

    Usage notesEdit

    is the most common kanji for this pronunciation.

    Etymology 5Edit

    Various nanori readings.

    Proper nounEdit

    (あたり) (Atari

    1. a surname

    (あたる) (Ataru

    1. a female given name

    (なかば) (Nakaba

    1. a surname

    Etymology 6Edit

    Kanji in this term
    ちゅん
    Grade: 1
    irregular

    Borrowing from Mandarin (zhōng)

    PronunciationEdit

    NounEdit

    (チュン) (chun

    1. (mahjong) red dragon (tile)

    See alsoEdit

    ReferencesEdit

    1. 1.0 1.1 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    2. 2.0 2.1 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

    KoreanEdit

    EtymologyEdit

    From Middle Chinese (MC ʈɨuŋ).

    Historical Readings
    Dongguk Jeongun Reading
    Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 듀ᇰ (Yale: tyùng)
    Middle Korean
    Text Eumhun
    Gloss (hun) Reading
    Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[1] 가온〮ᄃᆡᆺ (Yale: kàwóntòy-s) 듀ᇰ (Yale: tyùng)

    PronunciationEdit

    HanjaEdit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    , eumhun 가운데 (gaunde jung)

    1. Hanja form? of (average (grade or class)).
    2. Hanja form? of (middle; medium).
    3. Hanja form? of (amongst).
    4. Hanja form? of (in the course of; during).
    5. Hanja form? of (China (in compounds or in news media)).

    CompoundsEdit

    Proper nounEdit

    Hanja in this term

    (Jung) (hangeul )

    1. (in news headlines) Short for ()() (Jungguk, China).
      · 관계Han·Jung gwangyeSouth Korea – China relations

    Usage notesEdit

    In news headlines, this is usually written solely in the hanja form, even in contemporary Korean text otherwise devoid of any hanja.

    ReferencesEdit

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典. [2]

    Old KoreanEdit

    Alternative formsEdit

    • (*-huy) (probably represents lenition of initial *k)

    ParticleEdit

    (*-kuy, *-huy)

    1. in; at; amid (locative case marker, attested in isolation only before the eleventh century)

    Reconstruction notesEdit

    • Conventionally reconstructed as *-kuy because Idu manuals in Han'gul read this character as (-huy), which is believed to reflect an ancient reading tradition. Middle Korean intervocalic /h/ is usually lenited from Old Korean */k/ based on internal and dialectal reconstruction. The non-lenited form also survives directly in pronouns: 이ᅌᅥ긔〮 (ìngèkúy, here), 뎌ᇰ어긔〮 (tyèngèkúy, there), etc.
    • Assumed to be a logogram borrowed from Chinese, as no Chinese reading or native Korean equivalent of whose phonology is even remotely similar to *kuy is known. The Chinese word often bears a locative meaning as well, and there is a certain parallel in the Vietnamese Nôm use of the same character to write the native preposition trong (in; inside).
    • First-millennium Old Korean also featured the locative particle (*-a). The two particles were compounded as 良中 (*-a-kuy) as early as the seventh century. The compounded form becomes predominant in the corpus after the eleventh century, after which 中 *-kuy in isolation is rarely encountered (although a likely Middle Korean reflex is attested in Hangul form as late as the fifteenth century). The compounded form eventually fused into a single morpheme, becoming the Middle Korean locative particle 에〮/애〮 (-éy/áy).
    • At some point, perhaps even before widespread compounding, */k/ was lenited to */h/. Lenition may have begun as early as the eighth century, given the attestation of the form in the poem 讚耆婆郞歌 Changiparang-ga, whose claimed date of composition is 740.
    • Nam Pung-hyun suggests that (*-uy), another apparent locative particle attested in the Old Korean corpus, should be connected to (*-kuy.) He classifies both as "uy-type locatives", in contrast to (*-a) as an "a-type locative", and speculates that the uy-type locatives were reserved for animate beings while could be used indiscriminately.

    DescendantsEdit

    • Old Korean: 良中 (*-akuy) (compounded with (*-a))
    • Middle Korean: (-huy) (rare)

    See alsoEdit

    • (*-a) (locative case marker)
    • (*-uy) (locative case marker)
    • 良中 (*-akuy) (locative case marker predominant after the eleventh century)

    ReferencesEdit

    • 배대은 (1996), “이두 처격조사의 통시적 고찰 [A diachronic study of locative case markers in Idu]”, in Baedalmal, volume 21, pages 139–156
    • 이승재 (2000), “차자표기 자료의 격조사 연구 [Study of case markers in the Chinese-based orthography [of Korean]]”, in Gugeo Gukmunhak, volume 127, pages 107–132
    • Hwang Seon-yeop (2006). "Godae gugeo-ui cheogyeok josa" 고대국어의 처격조사] ["The locative case markers of Old Korean"]. Hanmal Yeon'gu Hakhoe Jeon'guk Haksul Daehoe (conference). Seongnam, South Korea. pp. 35–48.
    • Nam Pung-hyun (2012), “Old Korean”, in The Languages of Japan and Korea, Routledge, →ISBN, pages 41–72

    VietnameseEdit

    Han characterEdit

    : Hán Việt readings: trung ((trắc)(cung)(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5], trúng[1][2][3][4][5]
    : Nôm readings: trúng[1][2][3][4][6], trong[1][2][3][7], trung[1][2][4][6], truồng[3][4][5][6], đúng[3], truông[7]

    1. chữ Hán form of trung (middle).
    2. chữ Hán form of Trung (Sino-).
    3. chữ Hán form of trúng (to hit).
    4. Nôm form of trong (in; inside; within).

    CompoundsEdit

    ReferencesEdit