during throughout while
Noun + 中 ( に )
I might be missing something here, but why do i sometimes get the answer wrong when I write に . In this example, I don’t just get I prompt to change it, the answer gets market entirely wrong.
あの同僚どうりょうは仕事しごと ちゅう なのにいつも彼女かのじょとメールをする不真面目ふまじめな奴やつだ。
That co-worker is so incompetent, always texting his girlfriend during work.
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@Candygaming Sorry about that! I have updated the answers that throw hints/warnings for this grammar point. Adding に marks a specific event/time (ちゅう is a noun-suffix) during which something happens. You want to express “in the process of” or “throughout.” Plus, you do not add に before だ or な. Hope this helps! Cheers.
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I was wondering about the distinction between ちゅう and じゅう. In the sentence 「今晩じゅうにこの仕事を終わらせないといけないから、今夜は徹夜(てつや)だ。」 it seems ちゅう isn’t an alternative answer, but this would seem to me to be a ‘specific time’ (it certainly isn’t a duration), which would use ちゅう instead. Why is じゅう the appropriate answer for this one?
Choosing ちゅう or じゅう only depends on what’s before it. They have the same meaning.
I’m not sure all the rules but if there’s a ん before, then it’s pronounced じゅう.
今晩中 
こんばんじゅう
日本中 にほんじゅう
And for some reason, 一日中 いちにちじゅう
EDIT: Studying this some more, my rule of thumb doesn’t work with 午前中 ごぜんちゅう. That’s where you need the “length of time” vs “specific time” explanation.
Or, just accept that Japanese is bonkers and memorize these as set phrases. 
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Ah, that would explain it. Can’t say that’s something I’d noticed.
一日 can mean “one day”, can’t it? So one way of interpreting it would be as a duration?
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Kinda. You could use it for “I sat here for the duration of the day”, but you couldn’t use it for “the epoxy is fully cured after the duration of one day”.
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Can someone help me with the difference between 中 and 中に ？
Can に always be dropped? Does it add meaning like 間 and 間に?
I’m so confused…
考え中 / 考え中に
世界中 / 世界中に
テスト中 / テスト中に
食事中 / 食事中に
ありがとうございました❣️
Hey there!
に cant always be dropped, especially when it is used to mark a specific event/time when something happens as @Pushindawood has said.
考え中 / 考え中に While thinking/ at the time I was thinking
世界中 / 世界中に Around the world/ (at) Around the world
テスト中 / テスト中に During the test/ at the time the test was being taken
食事中 / 食事中に In the middle of eating/ at the time I was eating
With and without the に, they both mean during~/while~/ throughout~/ in the process of~ , but the ones with に emphasizes that it is happening at a specific time. 今、テスト中。Would translate as ‘I’m in the middle of a test,’ and would not need to have a に. テスト中に電話がかかってきた。would translate as ‘My phone rang while I was taking a test’, and in this sentence you can see how the に was used to emphasize that the person got a phone call during a specific time.
I hope that makes a little more sense.
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Yea! It does! Thanks for the quick reply! I appreciate your time 
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