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 sì 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 zhǐ shì qízhōng yī gè.There are lonely people everywhere. 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 of 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 office, 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 know one of them.
• 你 没有 做 过 生意，不 知道 其中 的 辛苦。Nǐ méiyǒu zuò guo shēngyì, bù zhīdào qízhōng de xīnkǔ.You have never done business before, so you don't know the hardship 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.Don't laugh at the square dancing aunties. Someday 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 èrshí-yī shìjì miànlín xǔduō wèntí, qízhōng zuì yánzhòng de shì huánjìng wèntí.Humankind faces many challenges in the 21st century. Among them, the most serious is the problem of 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 dull, I do 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

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