Sometimes the kanji says it all. Though in most cases it is largely impossible to foretell a character¡¯s meaning from its shape ¡ª Ìï (window?), ½ñ (bus stop?), Ÿo (cockroach in motion?) ¡ª the semantics of this one cuts right through you: ÖÐ.
Read naka, ³¦³ó¨±?or Âᨱ, ÖÐ captures the complex meaning of being within, between or in the middle of something. In its most straightforward sense, it translates simply as ¡°in¡°: ¼Ò¤ÎÖÐ (ie no naka, in the house), ¥«¥Ð¥ó¤ÎÖÐ (kaban no naka? in the bag) or, more metaphysically, ÐĤÎÖÐ (kokoro no naka, in the heart). Even when outside, you can still be ¡°in¡± something, for instance, Óê¤ÎÖÐ (ame no naka, in the rain).
The ¡°middle¡± meaning of ÖÐ becomes apparent in terms like ÖÐÖ¸ (nakayubi, the middle finger or toe) and ÖÐÍ¥ (nakaniwa, a courtyard between buildings). One of my favorite ¡°middle¡± expressions is ÖйŠ(³¦³ó¨±ko), which means ¡°second-hand¡± and literally translates as ¡°middle-old.¡±
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