noun
inside; interior; middle; center
Basic spatial use: the inside of a container, place, or area, and by extension the middle or central part. For the exact center, 真ん中 is especially common.
箱の中に古い写真が入っている。
There are old photos inside the box.
部屋の真ん中に丸いテーブルを置い
We put a round table in the middle of the room.
noun, adverb
Used to pick out something from inside a group, set, range, or selection. Common patterns include の中に, の中で, and この中で.
参加者の中に高校時代の友人がいた。
Among the participants was a friend from high school.
この中で一番安いのはどれですか。
Which of these is the cheapest?
noun, adverb
during; while; amid; in the midst of
Used for being in the middle of a time, situation, activity, or condition. In phrases such as 忙しい中 and 雨の中, it often implies surrounding circumstances.
忙しい中、来てくれてありがとう。
Thank you for coming despite being busy.
雨の中を駅まで歩いた。
I walked to the station in the rain.
noun
interval; gap; time in between
Limited but common in counting expressions such as 中一日, meaning that a certain interval is left in between.
中一日置いて、もう一度検査した。
After leaving one day in between, we tested it again.
noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun
middle one; second of three
Used with の to mean the middle member of a three-part set, especially children or siblings: 上の子, 中の子, 下の子.
三人兄弟で、中の子だけが東京に住んでいる。
Of the three siblings, only the middle child lives in Tokyo.
noun
average; medium grade; medium quality
Refers to a middle or average level, neither high nor low. Common in expressions such as 中くらい, 中の上, and 中の下 for relative grade or quality.
彼の成績はクラスで中くらいだ。
His grades are about average in the class.
この店のランチは値段も味も中の上だ。
This restaurant's lunch is upper-middle in both price and taste.
noun
Archaic use referring to a licensed pleasure quarter or red-light district; modern Japanese normally uses other terms, and this sense is mainly of historical or textual interest.
江戸時代の文脈で「中」とあれば、遊里を指す場合がある。
In an Edo-period context, 中 may sometimes refer to a pleasure quarter.
Also means inside or within, but often emphasizes an inside-vs-outside boundary, home, in-group, or a time limit; 中 is broader for physical middle, among, and midst.
Means between or during, especially between two points, people, or times; 中 often means inside a space, group, or ongoing situation.
Specifically means the very middle or center; 中 can mean inside, among, during, or a less exact middle.
A homophone meaning relationship or personal terms between people, as in 仲がいい; it is written differently from 中.
なか is a native Japanese word conventionally written with the kanji 中, which represents ideas such as inside and middle. No historical derivation for the native word is specified.