字Study Chinese Characters
中

zhōng middle

4 strokes

中 (zhōng) is a Chinese character meaning “middle”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 丨 (vertical stroke), and takes 4 strokes.

Build the character for “middle”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Learn this character

Structure

口 + 丨

Overlapping structure

  • 口 mouth · kǒu meaning
  • 丨 vertical stroke · gǔn meaning

Structure from: IDS ⿻口丨（构形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组核验：第 1–3 笔成 口，第 4 笔为 丨）

Memory aid

One vertical stroke (丨) runs straight down through the enclosure (口) and splits it evenly — it lands dead center. Both parts are really in this character: 中 is the middle.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

4 strokes

In real words

  • 中国zhōng guóChina中 = zhōngHSK 1
  • 中文zhōng wénChinese (language)中 = zhōngHSK 1
  • 中介zhōng jièintermediary; agency; broker中 = zhōng
  • 中华Zhōng huáChina; the Chinese nation中 = zhōng
  • 中央zhōng yāngcentre; central authorities中 = zhōng
  • 中旬zhōng xúnthe middle ten days of a month中 = zhōng
  • 中枢zhōng shūcenter; central nervous system; nerve center中 = zhōng
  • 初中chū zhōngjunior high school中 = zhōng
  • 中尉zhōng wèilieutenant (military rank)中 = zhōng
  • 中庸zhōng yōngthe doctrine of the mean; moderate中 = zhōng
  • 中药zhōng yàotraditional Chinese medicine中 = zhōng
Go deeper

All readings

zhōng main reading

middle

middle; center; in; among; within — also short for China

跟四周距离相等的位置；里面、当中；也是「中国」的简称。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 中国zhōng guóChina中 = zhōngHSK 1
  • 中文zhōng wénChinese (language)中 = zhōngHSK 1
  • 中介zhōng jièintermediary; agency; broker中 = zhōng
  • 中华Zhōng huáChina; the Chinese nation中 = zhōng
  • 中央zhōng yāngcentre; central authorities中 = zhōng
  • 中旬zhōng xúnthe middle ten days of a month中 = zhōng
  • 中枢zhōng shūcenter; central nervous system; nerve center中 = zhōng
  • 初中chū zhōngjunior high school中 = zhōng
  • 中尉zhōng wèilieutenant (military rank)中 = zhōng
  • 中庸zhōng yōngthe doctrine of the mean; moderate中 = zhōng
  • 中药zhōng yàotraditional Chinese medicine中 = zhōng

Rare readings, not taught: zhòng

Other characters with these parts

口 → 串兄免兑加占古句

丨 → 业个丫丰串乔五井

Easy to confuse with

申由

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 中 mean?

中 (zhōng) means middle; center; in; among; within — also short for China.

How do you pronounce 中?

It is pronounced zhōng.

What parts is 中 made of?

口 (mouth) and 丨 (vertical stroke). The recorded source is: IDS ⿻口丨（构形拆分，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组核验：第 1–3 笔成 口，第 4 笔为 丨）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 中 have?

4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 中?

丨. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.

What words use 中?

Common ones are 中国 and 中文. The reading of 中 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.