Chinese Grammar: Expressing “among” with 其中 and 当中

Among all the Chinese learners, Lupishu think he's the cleverest!

In this lesson, we are going to show you how to express “among” with 其中 and 当中. You can both use 其中 and 当中 to say among with some differences to know.

At last, Lupishu, among the dragons, is the one who speaks the best Chinese! One thing for sure!

The difference between 其中 or 当中

Generally, 其中 will emphasize among the things above-mentioned, and only. 其中 can’t be used for describing a process. On the other hand, 当中 will emphasize more on a situation, a process. It's not easy to get, at first sight, so let's dig into the general use of 其中 and 当中.

Expressing “among” with 其中

其中 emphasize "among the past” things we are talking about. It indicates something which belongs to the group.

You can understand it as “of which” in English.

Structure

Category/Context + 其中

Examples

所有 人 都 走 了 ， 其中 有 他。
Everyone left including him.

妈妈 做 了 很多 菜 ， 其中 有 他 最 爱 吃 的 西红柿炒鸡蛋。
Mom made a lot of dishes, including his favorite: the tomato scrambled eggs.

我 买 了 很多 水果 ， 其中 苹果 是 最 便宜 的。
I bought a lot of fruits, of which apples were the cheapest.

Expressing "among" with 当中

Use 当中 for describing a process, a group of people, or an activity. It simply means “among” in a certain range. Literally, it means "in the middle of".

Structure

Group/Process/Activity + 当中

Examples

这个 活动 还 在 进行 当中。
This activity is still going on.

他 是 我 朋友 当中 最 聪明 的。
He is the cleverest among my friends.

项目 仍 在 计划 当中。
The project is still in the planning stage.

There is a famous Chinese idiom with 其中 called 乐在其中 means “to find pleasure in it”. Usually, it’s used in writing, for example:

虽然 工作 很 辛苦 ， 但是 我 乐在其中 。 Although the work is hard, I find pleasure in it.