Use of 中 to indicate "in/amongst"?

[SteveAustin420]

I am having trouble understanding the use of 中 in a couple of sentences:

 

specifically:

 

"凤凰是中国古代传说中的神鸟"

 

and

 

"在中国的传说文化中。。。"

 

Am I right in thinking this 中 means in/amongst, as in 'within' the tradition of 中国的传说?

 

Could you similarly use it for languages, such as saying "在英文中，怎么说这个？"

 

thanks in advance

[Shelley]

Hello and welcome,

 

Yes I think this is a plausible use. 中 does mean middle, central. My dictionary also has within and amongst as definitions.

 

I am not sure if it could be used for languages, but that's just because I don't know, not that it is wrong. I am sure one of the more experienced forum members will come up with a answer.

[ZhangJiang]

Yes, your understanding and usage 在英文中 is correct.

 

Though, I want to add that "在英文中，这个怎么说?" is a more natural way of expressing. Maybe this is a little too advanced for you now, but in Chinese words with definite meanings tend to appear before the verb and indefinite after. Good luck with your Chinese!

[SteveAustin420]

谢谢你们

 

In what other contexts would you use 中 in this sense, besides languages and cultures?

[li3wei1]

words with definite meanings tend to appear before the verb and indefinite after

 

I've never heard this one before. Can you elaborate? Do you have a reference? What exactly is definite and indefinite in this context? It looks to me like the verb is at the end of the sentence, so everything is before the verb.

[anonymoose]

In what other contexts would you use 中 in this sense, besides languages and cultures?

 

中 is very widely used like this.

 

"在...的过程中" in the process of

[ZhangJiang]

 

I've never heard this one before. Can you elaborate? Do you have a reference? What exactly is definite and indefinite in this context? It looks to me like the verb is at the end of the sentence, so everything is before the verb.

 

Sorry I can only give you examples. Compare:

 

客人来了吗？Did the guests come?  来客人了吗？Did some guests come?

雨下了吗？Did the rain fall?  下雨了吗？ Did it rain?

饭吃了吗？Have you eaten the meal? 吃饭了吗？ Have you had any meal?

公园我找到了。I found the park. 我找到公园了。I found a park.

字儿认识吗？Do you recognize the character? 认识字儿吗？ Are you literate?

这个怎么说？How to say this? 怎么说这个？Not very natural.

 

And also the 把 sentences with the nouns before the verb:

我把门打开了。I opened the door.

我打开了一扇门。I opened a door.

[li3wei1]

Ah yes, much clearer, thank you.