Meaning of 中毒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to be poisoned
How to use 中毒
中毒 is used for real poisoning, such as food poisoning or gas poisoning. It is also used casually for being hooked on something, like a game or a show. Example: 他吃了不干净的东西，食物中毒了。(Tā chīle bù gānjìng de dōngxi, shíwù zhòngdú le.) He ate something unclean and got food poisoning.
中 normally means middle, but here it is read zhòng and means to hit a target, like an arrow striking the center. 毒 (dú) is poison, so 中毒 is being hit by poison.
Common mistake: Learners often read 中 here with the first tone as zhōng, like in 中国 (Zhōngguó). In 中毒 it must be fourth tone, zhòngdú.
中毒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
中 zhōng · within · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
毒 dú · poison · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Related words
Words that share a character with 中毒.
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | China |
| 中间 | zhōngjiān | the middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon; midday |
| 中学 | zhōngxué | middle school |
| 中文 | Zhōngwén | Chinese language |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
| 其中 | qízhōng | among; in |
| 中心 | zhōngxīn | center; heart; core |
| 高中 | gāozhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学[gao1 ji2 zhong1 xue2]) |
| 心中 | xīnzhōng | central point; in one's thoughts |
| 中年 | zhōngnián | middle age |
| 中餐 | zhōngcān | lunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food |
Questions about 中毒
What does 中毒 mean?
中毒 (zhòngdú) means "to be poisoned".
How do you write 中毒?
中毒 is made of 2 characters: 中 (4 strokes), 毒 (9 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 中毒 an HSK word?
Yes. 中毒 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 中毒 mean being addicted to something?
Yes, in casual speech it can mean being hooked on something fun. For example, 我玩这个游戏中毒了 means I am totally hooked on this game.
Where else is 中 read as zhòng?
It is read zhòng when it means to hit or to be affected by something. Common examples are 中奖 (zhòngjiǎng) to win a prize and 中暑 (zhòngshǔ) to get heatstroke.