Expressing "among" with "dangzhong"

当中 (dāngzhōng) means "among," or more literally "in the middle of." In English this is a bit like "of," as in, "of all of my friends, you are the most loyal." Also, 当中 can be used to express being "in the middle" of an activity or process that is fairly formal in nature, such as "in the middle of negotiations."

Structure

Group / Process + 当中

Examples

• 你 是 我 所有 朋友 当中 最 聪明 的 一 个。Nǐ shì wǒ suǒyǒu péngyou dāngzhōng zuì cōngming de yī gè.Of all of my friends, you are the smartest one.
• 在 这 一百 个 选手 当中 我 表现 得 最 出色。Zài zhè yībǎi gè xuǎnshǒu dāngzhōng wǒ biǎoxiàn de zuì chūsè.Among these one hundred contestants, my performance was the most outstanding.
• 他们 当中 很 多 都 是 上海人。Tāmen dāngzhōng hěn duō dōu shì Shànghǎi rén.Among them, there are many Shanghainese.
• 五 个 人 当中 有 一 个 人 是 小偷。Wǔ gè rén dāngzhōng yǒu yī gè rén shì xiǎotōu.Of the five people, one of them is a thief.
• 在 这么 多 家 餐厅 当中 ，就是 他们 家 比较 好吃。Zài zhème duō jiā cāntīng dāngzhōng, jiùshì tāmen jiā bǐjiào hǎochī.Of the many restaurants, theirs is best.
• 这 个 工程 还在 计划 当中。Zhège gōngchéng hái zài jìhuà dāngzhōng.This engineering project is still in the planning stage.
• 这 批 产品 还 在 设计 当中 ，还 没有 完全 确定 。Zhè pī chǎnpǐn hái zài shèjì dāngzhōng, hái méiyǒu wánquán quèdìng.This batch of products is still being designed and has not been finalized.
• 我们 还 在 考虑 当中 ，你 不要 着急 。Wǒmen hái zài kǎolǜ dāngzhōng, nǐ bùyào zhāojí.We are still in the process of considering it, please don't get impatient.
• 现在 还 在 调查 当中 ，还 不 知道 结果 。Xiànzài hái zài diàochá dāngzhōng, hái bù zhīdào jiéguǒ.It still under investigation, so the result is not yet known.
• 我 还 在 搬家 当中 ，每天 要 处理 很 多 事情 。Wǒ hái zài bānjiā dāngzhōng, měitiān yào chǔlǐ hěn duō shìqing.I'm in the process of moving, and every day I have many things to deal with.

When used to express "among," 当中 is a little like 其中 (qízhōng). However, 其中 means something more like "among the aforementioned," where as 当中 simply means "among." Furthermore 其中 cannot be used in relation to processes.

See also

• "Within (it/them)" as "qizhong"
• "One of" with "…zhi yi"

Sources and Further Reading

HSK5