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中级 (zhōng jí) — intermediate; middle level

Definition

中级 marks the middle rung in a skill or course hierarchy — paired with 初级 (beginner) and 高级 (advanced). Use it for language levels, exams, and classes; not a synonym of 中等 ('medium, average' in size or quality).

adjective
intermediatemiddle level
Easily confused

Examples

  • 中级。
    Zhè běn zhōng jí shū hěn hǎo.
    This intermediate book is very good.
  • 中级。
    Tā de hàn yǔ shì zhōng jí shuǐ píng.
    His Chinese is at an intermediate level.
  • 中级。
    Wǒ tōng guò le zhōng jí kǎo shì.
    I passed the intermediate exam.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

中zhōngmiddle
级jílevel

中级 pairs 中, meaning middle, with 级, a level or rank, to describe an intermediate level.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 級; 级 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí級jí
Same sound today

The traditional form 級 has 糹 (thread) and 及 as a sound part; its original sense was a sequence related to silk. The simplified 级 is a later shorthand.

Open 级 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Quantity & Amount

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