仲 meaning and stroke order
Middle brother; go between, mediator; surname
How to write 仲, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 仲
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- second month of a season
- middle
- intermediate
- second amongst brothers
How 仲 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The middle 中 person 亻; 中 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 仲
仲 is a person 亻 standing in the middle 中. Think of the middle brother, or the person in the middle who settles a dispute, and 中 (zhōng) also hints at the sound zhòng.
Today 仲 mostly appears in set words like 仲裁 (zhòngcái, arbitration) and in seasonal terms such as 仲夏 (zhòngxià, midsummer, the second month of summer). It is also a surname. Example: 双方同意仲裁。(Shuāngfāng tóngyì zhòngcái.) Both sides agreed to arbitration.
Common mistake: Learners often read 仲 with the first tone like 中 (zhōng), but 仲 is always fourth tone, zhòng. Do not confuse it with 种 (zhǒng/zhòng, seed or plant), which has the grain radical 禾 instead of the person radical 亻.
Common words with 仲
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 仲裁 | zhòngcái | arbitration | HSK 7-9 |
仲 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 仲
How many strokes are in 仲?
仲 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 仲 mean?
仲 (zhòng) means middle brother; go between, mediator; surname. A common word with it is 仲裁 (zhòngcái), meaning "arbitration".
How do you pronounce 仲?
仲 is pronounced zhòng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 仲?
The radical of 仲 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 仲 under this radical.
Is 仲 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 仲 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 伯仲 mean?
伯仲 (bózhòng) comes from the old order of brothers, where 伯 was the eldest and 仲 the second. It describes two things that are nearly equal, as in 不相上下 or 伯仲之间 (bózhòng zhī jiān), meaning hard to tell which is better.
Is 仲 used for middle child in modern speech?
Not really. In everyday Chinese people say 老二 (lǎo'èr) or 二哥 (èrgē) for a second child or brother. The sense of second brother survives mainly in classical texts, names, and idioms.