中
なか · naka · JLPT N5 · noun
among
📦 naka sounds like knock-a: knock to find out who is inside
中 is a box with a line through its centre, which is the etymology: a stroke hitting the middle. Say naka like knock-a, the sound you make on a door to reach whoever is inside. Read なか, it means inside, middle, or among a group.
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).
ちゅう · chuu · JLPT N3 · noun
inside
🎯 A line through the centre of a box: 中 means right in the middle
The kanji is a box (口) with one vertical stroke through its centre, so the shape itself means middle or inside. Chuu sounds like chew, and you chew food inside your mouth. You also see it in 中国, the Middle Kingdom.
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).