中

Middle

Meaning: Middle

There’s a stick going through a mouth. Why? Because someone was talking too much, so you decided to put the stick right through his/her lips… right in the middle, to shut him/her up.

If it helps, you can imagine someone talking to you. Blah blah blah blah blah. They’re so irritating. You then take a stick and bring it down through their lips, so it goes right through their mouth. Really envision this action (gruesome, I know!) and feel the irritation of them talking beforehand. Be sure you take note that the stick goes right through the middle – not the side, not anywhere else – the middle. schoom! Ouch!

Reading: ちゅう

To remember the sound for this on’yomi, we use the word chewbacca to pull up ちゅう in our memory. You just stabbed the middle of someone’s mouth with a stick… but you weren’t paying attention. After you stabbed this person’s mouth shut, you look up, only to realize it is chewbacca’s mouth you stabbed shut. He’s gonna be soooo pissed.

Imagine the fear and shock you’d feel after finding out you stabbed Chewbacca’s mouth shut. I’d run away if I were you.

Vocabulary

Learn the meanings of the following kanji (and the readings too, if you can).

a 中（なか）＝　Middle

• Meaning: The meaning is the same as the kanji.
• Reading: The reading is the kun’yomi reading because this vocab is a single kanji, all alone. It’s a really important and common word, so I’d recommend trying to learn the reading of this vocab now, before moving on. Test yourself every 5 minutes to make sure you remember it until you do.

a 中々（なかなか）＝　Very, Considerably

• Combo: 中 (middle) + 々 (repeater kanji – this just repeats the kanji that falls before it).
  
• Meaning: This is essentially 中 twice in a row. We’re not just talking the middle here. We’re talking the middle of the middle, which I think is associable with “very” or “considerably.” If anything, you’re just being considerably “middle” by going “middle middle.”
• Reading: Just 中 (kun’yomi) twice in a row.

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