Expressing "within (it/them)" with "qizhong"

In classical Chinese, 其 (qí) means 那个, 那, or 那些, and refers to people or things previously mentioned in the sentence. It stands to reason therefore, that 其中 (qízhōng）means "among the aforementioned" or 那里面, and denotes that something belongs to, is or is part of a bigger group. This is a little like "of which" in English, where you can say, "I have three ties, of which two feature Batman."

Structure

Category / Group / Context + 其中

Examples

• 我 有 四辆 汽车，其中 三 辆 都 是 宝马。Wǒ yǒu jǐ liàng qìchē, qízhòng sān liàng dōu shì bǎomǎ.I have four cars. Of them, three are BMW's.
• 到处 都 有 孤独 的 人，我 只 是 其中 一 个。Dàochù dōu yǒu gūdú de rén, wǒ zhǐshì qízhōng yī gè.There are solitary people all over the place. I am just one of them.
• 这么 多 项目，其中 最 难 做的 就是 环境的 项目。Zhème duō xiàngmù, qízhōng zuì nán zuò de jiùshì huánjìng de xiàngmù.Of these many projects, the most difficult is the environmental project.
• 你 能 把 其中 的 一 本 书 给 我 吗？Nǐ néng bǎ qízhōng de yī běn shū gěi wǒ ma?Can you give me one those books?
• 公司里 有 三 把 伞，其中 两 把 是 老板 的。Gōngsī li yǒusān bǎ sǎn, qízhōng liǎng bǎ shì lǎobǎn de.Of the three umbrellas in the company, two are the boss's.
• 这么 多人，我 只 认识 其中 的 一 个。Zhème duō rén, wǒ zhǐ rènshí qízhōng de yī gè.Of the many people, I only knew one.
• 你 没有 做过 生意，不 知道 其中 的 辛苦。Nǐ méiyǒu zuòguò shēngyì, bù zhīdào qízhōng de xīnkǔ.You have nver done business, so you don't know the challenges of it.
• 不要 笑话 跳 广场舞 的大妈，以后 你 可能 成为 其中 的 一 个。Bù yào xiàohuà tiào guǎngchǎng wǔ de dàmā, yǐhòu nǐ kěnéng chéngwéi qízhōng de yī gè.You don't want to laugh at the square dancing aunties, afterwards you may become one of them.
• 人类 21 世纪 面临 许多 问题，其中 最 严重 的 是 环境 问题。Rénlèi 21 shìjì miànlín xǔduō wèntí, qízhōng zuì yánzhòng de shì huánjìng wèntí.Mankind faces many challenges in the 21st century. Among them, the most serious is the problem of protecting the environment.
• 工作 虽然 有时 枯燥，但是 我 乐在 其中。Gōngzuò suīrán yǒushí kūzào, dànshì wǒ lè zài qízhōng.Although work is sometimes boring, I am able to find joy in it.

In the last example sentence, 乐在其中 means "to find pleasure in" or maybe "there is joy involved with." This sounds awkward in English, but 其中 is often used in this abstract way.

See also

• "Among" as "dangzhong"
• "One of" with "…zhi yi"

Sources and further reading

Books

• HSK Standard Course 4上 (pp. 73) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 2 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇) (pp. 169) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 353) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 259-60) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 6 (新实用汉语课本6) (pp. 29) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

:Yes