zhōng wǔ
midday
我现在在吃午饭。
wǒ xiànzài zài chī wǔfàn.
I am eating lunch now.
中午我要去超市买东西。
zhōngwǔ wǒ yào qù chāoshì mǎi dōngxī.
I will go to the supermarket to buy things at noon.
中午我们一起去公园玩吧。
zhōngwǔ wǒmen yīqǐ qù gōngyuán wán ba.
Let's go to the park together at noon.
晌午 (shǎngwǔ)
midday
正午 (zhèngwǔ)
noon
午时 (wǔshí)
the hour of noon
早上 (zǎoshang)
morning
晚上 (wǎnshang)
evening
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The Chinese word 中午 (zhōngwǔ) for "noon" is composed of two characters: 中 (zhōng) and 午 (wǔ). The character 中 means "middle" or "center", while 午 means "horse". In ancient China, the time of day was often determined by the position of the sun in the sky. Noon was considered to be the middle of the day, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. The character 午 was used to represent noon because it was believed that the sun was at its strongest at this time of day, like a galloping horse.Over time, the character 中午 came to be used to refer to the specific time of day around noon. It is now commonly used to mean "noon" or "midday".
