期中 (qī zhōng) — midterm; interim period | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The 'midterm' half of a school term (期中考试 = midterm exam). Compare 期末 (the end-of-term half) and 中期 (middle phase of a longer process).

noun

midterminterim period

Examples

期中。
qī zhōng Kǎo shì zài xià ge xīng qī.
The midterm exam is next week.
期中。
Tā zhè xué qī de qī zhōng chéng jì hěn hǎo.
His midterm grades this semester are very good.
期中。
qī zhōng De shí hou lǎo shī huì fù xí.
During the midterm period, the teacher will do review.

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.

期qīperiod

中zhōngmiddle

‘期’ means period and ‘中’ means middle, together naming the middle point of a period.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Exams & Grades

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.