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途中 (tú zhōng) — midway, en route, on the way (during a journey or process)

Definition

noun
midwayen routeon the way (during a journey or process)

Examples

  • 途中。
    Wǒ men zài tú zhōng yù dào le yì chǎng dà yǔ.
    We encountered a heavy rain on the way.
  • 途中。
    Tā zài tú zhōng gǎi biàn le jì huà.
    He changed his plan midway.
  • 途中。
    Huǒ chē tú zhōng tíng le hǎo jǐ cì.
    The train stopped several times along the way.

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.

途tújourney
中zhōngmiddle

途 'journey' and 中 'middle' combine to mean the middle part of a journey.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú途
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

途 is made from 辶 (written fully as 辵), a walking part, and 余, which gives the sound.

Open 途 →

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 →
Appears in
Travel & Tourism

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