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中央 (zhōng yāng) — center, middle, center (of a physical area); (leaders) central authorities, the central government

Definition

中央 has two senses: physical 'center' (like 中间) and, uniquely here, the political 'central government / central authorities.' 中间 and 中心 are everyday spatial centers; 中央 is the formal/abstract term, used for the nation's top leadership.

noun
centermiddlecenter (of a physical area)(leaders) central authoritiesthe central government

Examples

  • 中央。
    Guǎng chǎng zhōng yāng yǒu yí zuò diāo xiàng.
    There is a statue in the center of the square.
  • 中央。
    zhōng yāng Fā bù le xīn de jīng jì zhèng cè.
    The central authorities issued new economic policies.
  • 中央。
    Dì tú zhōng yāng biāo zhe shǒu dū.
    The capital is marked in the center of the map.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

中zhōngmiddle
央yāngcenter

The middle and center meanings overlap to name the central area.

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 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

央 may have originally drawn a man with his neck in shackles. It was borrowed for its sound to write “center,” so that picture is unrelated to the modern meaning.

Open 央 →
Appears in
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