途中
とちゅう · tochuu · JLPT N4 · noun
manner
🛤️ 途中 = route (途) + middle (中): in the middle of the route
途 means road or route, as in 途方 and 用途. 中 means middle or inside, read ちゅう as in 中学. Together they say mid-route: you have set off but not yet arrived. Often used as 途中で, meaning partway through.
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).