日中
にっちゅう · nicchuu · JLPT N3 · noun
day
☀️ 日中 = sun/day + middle: right in the middle of the day
日 means sun or day, and 中 means middle or during, so 日中 is the time when the sun is up. It is the opposite of 夜中 (よなか), the middle of the night. Here 日 is read にち, and にち + ちゅう shortens to にっちゅう.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.
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).