途中
túzhōng · HSK 4
en route
🛣️ 途 = route + 中 = middle: middle of the route = en route
途 means road or route; 中 means middle or inside. Together they literally read as 'middle of the road/journey', i.e. partway through a trip — en route, on the way.
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).