particle N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜中(に) — during ~ / within ~ / in the middle of ~
〜中(に) ・ ちゅう(に)／じゅう(に)
Meaning
① in-the-middle: in the middle of ~ / during ~ — while an action or period is in progress
② within-a-period: within ~ / by the end of ~ (sometime inside the period) — a deadline expressed as a span
Key sentence
① in-the-middle
会議中は携帯を切ってください。
Please turn off your phone during the meeting.
② within-a-period
今日中に返事をします。
I'll give you an answer by the end of today.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (action or period) | N + 中(に) | 仕事中 / 工事中 / 今月中に |
Examples
① in-the-middle
食事中に電話が鳴った。
The phone rang in the middle of the meal.
授業中に居眠りしてしまった。
I dozed off during class.
② within-a-period
今週中にレポートを出さなければならない。
I have to hand in the report by the end of this week.
午前中に着く予定です。
I'm scheduled to arrive sometime in the morning.
Easily confused with
〜間に 間に attaches to a clause or noun to mark a point within a span (留守の間に). 〜中 attaches directly to a noun and labels the noun itself as 'ongoing' (留守中) — more compact and noun-bound. までに までに sets a hard deadline you must beat (五時までに). The 'within-a-period' 〜中に is softer — sometime inside the period (今日中に = 'at some point today').
Notes
- Reading split: 〜ちゅう = 'in the middle of / within' (会議中, 今日中), but 〜じゅう = 'throughout / all over' (一日中 = 'all day long,' 世界中 = 'all over the world'). The kanji is the same; the reading carries the difference.
See 〜中(に) in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜中(に) the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.