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中等 (zhōng děng) — medium, moderate, average (in degree, level, size, etc.)

Definition

Describes something that sits in the middle of a scale — size, level, quality, or difficulty. It judges a whole category (e.g. 中等水平, 中等规模), unlike 适度 or 适量, which mark an appropriate amount of one specific thing.

adjective
mediummoderateaverage (in degree, level, size, etc.)

Examples

  • 中等。
    Tā de shēn gāo zài bān lǐ shǔ yú zhōng děng shuǐ píng.
    His height is at an average level in the class.
  • 中等，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī guī mó zhōng děng, bú suàn hěn dà.
    This company is medium-sized, not very large.
  • 中等。
    Tā kǎo shàng le yì suǒ zhōng děng zhí yè xué xiào.
    She was admitted to a medium-level vocational school.

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
等děnggrade

中等 pairs 中, meaning middle, with 等, a grade or level, to describe a middle grade.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
竹竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì等děng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 竹 shows bamboo strips used for writing and sorting; the bottom 寺 once gave the sound, but now sounds different.

Open 等 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Size & Dimension

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