初中
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 3 (2021)
初中 (chūzhōng) · junior high school
初中 (chūzhōng) means “junior high school”. It is written with 2 characters: 初 (first (as in 初一)) + 中 (middle). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 初中 is built
The characters
初 chū · first (as in 初一)
What 初 is made of
- 衤yī — clothing
- 刀dāo — knife
- 丿 — falling stroke
Origin hint: Cutting 刀 the cloth 衤 is the first step in making clothes (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
中 zhōng · middle
What 中 is made of
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 冂 — frame
- 丨 — vertical stroke
Origin hint: A line 丨 through the center of a box 口 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
我弟弟在上初中。Wǒ dìdi zài shàng chūzhōng.My younger brother is in junior high school.
你是在哪儿上的初中？Nǐ shì zài nǎr shàng de chūzhōng?Where did you go to junior high school?
Questions about 初中
What does 初中 mean?
初中 (chūzhōng) means “junior high school”.
How do you pronounce 初中?
初中 is pronounced chūzhōng.
Which HSK level is 初中?
初中 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021).
Related words
- 初步chūbùinitial
- 初级chūjíelementary
- 当初dāngchūat first
- 年初niánchūbeginning of the year
- 最初zuìchūat first
- 起初qǐchūat first
- 初chūfirst (as in 初一)
- 中国ZhōngguóChina
- 中间zhōngjiānmiddle
- 中文ZhōngwénChinese (written language)
Learn 初中 with its group
It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 8: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.