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I found one 明星 saying this on Youtube: "我中了,我中了." ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4egudxwbdI (4:27)。I have tried asking this to tutor online, and he answered: 中 means: -to hit (the mark) -to be hit by -to suffer -to win (a prize, a lottery) And gave me a website that states exactly that, but doesn't have an example for the independent use and meaning of 中. So, I wonder, what does 中 mean in such context? Can 中 act as a verb in itself??

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中 = to win:

中獎 = win a prize

中頭獎 = win the first prize

中大獎 = win the grand prize

中安慰獎 = win the consolation prize

中二奬 = win the second prize

中彩票 = win lottery

中頭獎彩票 = win the lottery jackpot

中二獎彩票 = win the second prize lottery

獎 in 中獎 is always referring to prize by chance; Not to be confused with 得獎/獲獎 (win award) which the prize or award is always on merit

中 = to take/ be hit by:

中槍 = 1. take/ hit by a gunshot; 2. take (hit by) a (long) spear trust

中彈 = take/ hit by a bullet strike

中刀 = take/ hit by a knife strike

中劍 = take/ hit by a sword strike

中錘 = take/ hit by a hammer strike

中拳 = take/ hit by a (fist) punch

中腿 = take/ hit by a (leg) kick

take/ hit by any object above cause harm, therefore, 中 can also be understood as 'to suffer'

Example in longer sentence:

今期彩票誰中? - who won the lottery this time?

旗艦中了三枚魚雷下沈 - The flagship took (was hit by) three torpedoes and sunk

Notice:

As an adjective or a noun 中 is pronounced as /zhong1/ in Mandarin and /zung1/ in Cantonese

As a verb, 中 is pronounced as /zhong4/ in Mandarin and /zung4/ in Cantonese

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  • OP also wants to know of "...an example for the independent use and meaning of 中"?, i.e what does 中 means on its own? Nov 30, 2020 at 4:52
  • I already stated 中 means " to win; to take; to be hit by" e.g.[ 中] 流星錘 = [take] a 流星錘 strike; [中]兩次彩票 = [win] lottery twice; 今期彩票誰[中]? who [won] the lottery this time?
    – Tang Ho
    Nov 30, 2020 at 7:36
  • To add to this answer, I think it's also worth mentioning that as a verb it's pronounced with the 4th tone (zhòng) whereas as an adjective it has the 1st tone (zhōng) - in 普通话 at least. Nov 30, 2020 at 9:11
  • Do the given examples work in both Mandarin and Cantonese? Nov 30, 2020 at 10:33
  • Yes, my examples work in both Mandarin and Cantonese. See cantonese.sheik.co.uk/dictionary/characters/62
    – Tang Ho
    Nov 30, 2020 at 10:33
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I remember this being used standalone in the recent-ish Confucius movie with Chow Yun-fat. There is a scene with an archery competition where it is used when hitting the target in the centre.

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