中午
zhōng wǔ · HSK 1
noon
☀️🕛 中 = middle + 午 = noon/horse hour; literally 'middle of the noon-hour'
中 means middle/center. 午 is the seventh earthly branch, traditionally the horse hour (11am–1pm), the sun's peak. Together 中午 pinpoints the middle of that hour band — solar noon.
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).