～中

How it works

中 is the kanji of 中（なか）, ‘inside’. Hung on the end of a noun it becomes a suffix with two readings, and the reading changes the meaning.

中（ちゅう）: in the middle of, within

After a noun that names an activity, mostly Sino-Japanese words that can take する, ちゅう says the activity is going on right now: 会議中 (in a meeting), 食事中 (eating), 電話中 (on the phone), 勉強中 (studying), 工事中 (under construction), 使用中 (in use), 営業中 (open for business), 準備中 (getting ready, which on a shop door means ‘not open yet’). It behaves like a noun: 会議中です, 会議中に, 会議中の人.

After a period, ちゅう + に means at some point within that period: 午前中に (during the morning), 今週中に (within this week), 今月中に (by the end of this month). A few fixed words take じゅう here instead, above all 今日中（きょうじゅう）に, ‘sometime today’, and 今年中（ことしじゅう）に, ‘before the year is out’.

中（じゅう）: the whole of, all over

After a length of time, じゅう means the entire span with no gaps: 一日中 (all day), 一晩中 (all night), 一年中 (all year round). After a place it means everywhere in it: 世界中 (all over the world), 日本中 (all over Japan), 家中 (the whole house).

The rule of thumb: ちゅう looks inside (a point during, a deadline within); じゅう spreads across (throughout, all over). 午前中に電話します is one call sometime in the morning; 一日中電話していました is a phone glued to your ear all day.

Examples

• 田中さんは今、会議中です。（たなかさん は いま、かいぎちゅう です）— Tanaka is in a meeting right now.
• 食事中に電話が鳴りました。（しょくじちゅう に でんわ が なりました）— The phone rang during the meal.
• 午前中に病院へ行きます。（ごぜんちゅう に びょういん へ いきます）— I am going to the hospital in the morning.
• この道は工事中で、通れません。（この みち は こうじちゅう で、とおれません）— This road is under construction, so you cannot get through.
• 日曜日は一日中家で寝ていました。（にちようび は いちにちじゅう いえ で ねて いました）— On Sunday I slept at home all day.
• この歌は世界中で有名です。（この うた は せかいじゅう で ゆうめい です）— This song is famous all over the world.

Compare with

～ている

会議中です and 会議をしています say the same thing, but 中 attaches only to nouns. There is no 食べ中 or 見中: with a verb you say 食べています, or, to stress the moment, 食べている最中に (right in the middle of eating).

～ている間に ／ ～ながら

食事中に電話が鳴った and ご飯を食べている間に電話が鳴った both place one event inside another. ながら is different: it joins two actions by the same person done at once (食べながらテレビを見る), and it never means ‘during a meeting’.

中（なか）

Read なか, 中 is the ordinary noun ‘inside’ and needs の: かばんの中 (inside the bag), 部屋の中で (in the room). 会議の中で means ‘within the meeting’ as a place or topic, not ‘currently in a meeting’, which is 会議中.

Traps for Spanish, English and French speakers

• Spanish ‘durante’, French ‘pendant’ and English ‘during’ go in front of any noun or clause, so learners hang 中 on verbs: 昼ご飯を食べる中に電話が鳴った. 中 takes nouns only, mostly Sino-Japanese action nouns: 食事中に電話が鳴った, or with a verb 昼ご飯を食べている間に電話が鳴った.
• Spanish ‘todo el día’, French ‘toute la journée’ and English ‘all day’ put ‘all’ in front, so learners produce 全部の日 or すべての一日. Japanese hangs 中（じゅう） after the span: 一日中, 一晩中, 一年中, and for places 世界中, not 全部の世界.
• Spanish and French pronounce a written word one way only, so learners pick one reading for every 中: いちにちちゅう and せかいちゅう are wrong (いちにちじゅう, せかいじゅう), and so is かいぎじゅう (かいぎちゅう). Remember that 今日中 is きょうじゅう even though it means ‘within today’.
• English ‘sometime today’ and Spanish ‘a lo largo de hoy’ get built word by word: 今日のいつか, 今日の間に. The set phrase is 今日中に, and the same shape gives 今週中に, 今月中に, 午前中に, always with に when it marks a deadline.