居中 (jū zhōng) — to be in the middle (spatially or positionally); to act as an intermediary; to mediate

Definition

As a verb, 居中 means 'to be positioned in the middle/center' (of a layout or arrangement), or 'to act as an intermediary to mediate.' Note the split: 居中 can stand alone as a predicate, and in mediation contexts it pairs with verbs like 调解.

verb
to be in the middle (spatially or positionally)to act as an intermediaryto mediate

Examples

  • 居中。
    Qǐng jiāng zhè duàn wén zì zài yè miàn shàng jū zhōng pái liè.
    Please center-align this paragraph on the page.
  • 居中。
    Tā duō cì jū zhōng tiáo jiě shuāng fāng de máo dùn.
    He has mediated the conflicts between the two sides many times.
  • 居中，。
    Zhè ge tú biāo zài huà miàn zhōng jū zhōng, xiǎn de fēi cháng xǐng mù.
    This icon is centered in the picture, making it very eye-catching.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

居jūreside
中zhōngmiddle

居 means to reside or stand, and 中 means the middle; together they mean to be in the middle.

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ居jū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

Open 居 →

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 →

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