中zhōng

中

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Modern simplified form (簡體). 中 (zhōng, "middle, center") preserves its traditional shape unchanged — a pictograph depicting a vertical line through a boxlike enclosure, capturing the essence of centrality. It serves as a component in 忠 (loyalty), 冲 (rush), 仲 (middle) and many other characters.

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Shuowen

Center. The oracle bone form shows a vertical line (丨) passing through the center of a box or circle, a simple diagram of something at the middle. This pictograph directly conveys the idea of "center" or "midpoint", and the shape is retained in the modern character because the vertical line through the box remains the clearest visual symbol of centrality.

Pinyin

zhōng· HSK 1· Radical 丨

中zhōng

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin