How do we decide if 中 is ちゅう or じゅう ?
For example, in this sentence １０人中３人はビデオを持っている which pronunciation should we use?
What about this: そのピアニストの演奏中、彼らは一心に耳を傾けた。
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2中 is read as ちゅう in both examples. I cannot explain why right now.– Tsuyoshi ItoCommented Aug 22, 2011 at 18:38
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@Tsuyoshi thx for the confirmation =P– PacerierCommented Aug 22, 2011 at 21:54
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3 Answers
- じゅう (or, rarely: ぢゅう) is used for expressions covering a length of time (resp. area) from start to finish, in its entirety. I.e. "through", "all of":
一年中【いちねんじゅう】 all year
一日中【いちにちじゅう】 all day
世界中【せかいじゅう】 all over the world
- ちゅう is for pointing a particular time (resp. specific location) out of an interval (resp. general area). I.e. "out of", "during":
午前中【ごぜんちゅう】 [at some point] during morning
会議中【かいぎちゅう】 in a meeting [e.g. "he is in a meeting at the moment"]
Note that in some cases, both can be used and the only way to tell would be from context (e.g. an expression followed by に is more likely to be ちゅう) or in speech:
来月中【らいげつじゅう】 all of next month
来月中【らいげつちゅう】 [some time] next month
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cool, btw just to confirm, is the 中 in the 2 sentences (in the question) both ちゅう and not じゅう ?– PacerierCommented Aug 22, 2011 at 10:21
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Hmn, I would have said じゅう, since there's an idea of continuity (they listened carefully throughout the whole thing, not just at a specific point in time), but Google seems to think otherwise.– DaveCommented Aug 22, 2011 at 10:29
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For some reason, verbal noun is always with ちゅう. The usages are (1) shows state:
会議中 = is in a meeting(2) as adverb, it means "throughout the course of 〜":会議中眠っていた = Slept throughout the meeting(3) used with に, it points a moment.会議中に… = sometime in the meeting,….– syockitCommented Aug 26, 2011 at 18:29
"out of" is 「ちゅう」, "through" is 「じゅう」.
中 ちゅう
(suf,abbr,n-suf) medium; average; middle; moderation; middle school; China; in; out of (e.g. three out of ten people); during (a certain time when one did or is doing something); (P)
中 じゅう
(suf) through; throughout; in the course of; all over or throughout (e.g. a place)
EDIT:
That second example is "during", so 「ちゅう」.
answered Aug 22, 2011 at 5:15
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btw isn't it true that じゅう can also mean "in; out of (e.g. three out of ten people);" ?– PacerierCommented Aug 22, 2011 at 5:27
１０人中３人はビデオを持っている
Here, 中 reading is うち
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2You give a different reading from the other comments/answers. Could you maybe give a bit more detail?– Earthliŋ ♦Commented Sep 19, 2020 at 20:18