【中】(chū,naka/middle,center) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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How to read 中

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are

・chū　ちゅう
・jū　じゅ

For example,
・中心　chū-shin　ちゅうしん
center
・水中　sui-chū　すいちゅう
underwater
・中国　chū-goku　ちゅうごく
Chine
and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next is the kun-reading.
It’s read as

・なか　naka

For example,
・中身　naka-mi　なかみ
inside of
・背中　se-naka　せなか
back of body
and so on.

③ Special reading

No special reading

Meaning of 中

Next is the meaning of the kanji for "中".
This kanji is used in the next meanings

・middle
・center

Radical of 中

And the radical of this character is 丨/tatebo.
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names in Jpapan.
Here are some family names that are famous in Japan.

・田中　tanaka　たなか
・中村　nakamura　なかむら
・中島/中嶋　nakajima/nakashima　なかじま/なかしま
"嶋" is the old form of "島".
・中野　nakano　なかの
・中川　nakagawa　なかがわ
・中田　nakata/nakada　なかた/なかだ
・山中　yamanaka　やまなか
・中西　nakanishi　なかにし
・中尾　nakao　なかお
・中井　nakai　なかい
・中谷　nakatani　なかたに
・中原　nakahara　なかはら

Personal name

There are no specific well-known personal names using the Kanji for 中

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 中.

・田中 将大　Tanaka Masahiro
He is a baseball player

・中田 英寿　Nakata Hidetoshi
He is a former footballer

・中嶋 悟　Nakajima Satoru
He is a former F-1 racing driver

Anime characters

Next, I will introduce some manga and anime characters that use the kanji 中.

・中川 圭一　Nakagawa Kēichi
He is a character in KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops

Look-alikes 中

Finally, here are some kanji that are similar to 中.

・申　shin, mō-　しん、もう（す）
say

・巾　kin, haba　きん、はば
width

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

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