Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 5: 11/20

の中(なか)でIn, Among, Within

Structure

Noun + の + 中(なか)で
その(1) + 中(なか)で

(1) この

Details

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About のなかで

Just like the grammar point の中(なか)で～が一番(いちばん)～, this grammar point may be used when marking one thing from within a group, and then further describing it. The only difference is that の中(なか)で by itself simply marks something as being 'among (A)', or 'within (A)', rather than being the 'most (A)'.

の中(なか)で is also frequently used to describe things that are happening within a place, and will translate simply as 'in (A)', in these cases.

Examples

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    この三(みっ)つの中(なか)では、赤(あか)色(いろ)が好(す)き。

    Among these three, I like the red one. (within)

    フルーツの中(なか)で、イチゴとかパインが好(す)き。

    Among all fruits, I like strawberries and pineapple. (within)

    この中(なか)で一(ひと)つを選(えら)んでください。

    Please choose one from among these. (within)

    公園(こうえん)の中(なか)で子供(こども)達(たち)が遊(あそ)んでいた。

    The children were playing in the park. (Within)

    全部(ぜんぶ)の国(くに)の中(なか)で、一番(いちばん)行(い)ってみたいのはどこ？

    Among all countries, which one do you want to go to the most? (within)

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のなかで – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (11 in total)

  • ljoekelsoey

    ljoekelsoey

    Don’t think there’s nothing wrong with this, but I think the nuance is ever so slightly different perhaps? I’m not sure if its on bunpro or not though @mrnoone ?

  • Tulip

    Tulip

    How does the use of のなかで to mean ‘in’ differ from the use of に to mean ‘in’? I assume there are differences in nuance, even if both translate to the same English word, but initial attempts at Googling aren’t yielding anything useful; they’re instead getting me comparisons between のなかで and のなかに, which, while plausibly worth learning too, don’t address my current confusion.

    For example, in the example sentence 公園のなかで子供達が遊んでいた, what difference is there in its meaning as compared with that of the as-far-as-I-can-tell-still-grammatical sentence 公園に子供達が遊んでいた?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey @Tulip and welcome to the community forums!

    公園に子供達が遊んでいた is not correct, you should use で in this sentence.

    What you really want to know is the difference between particles に and で.

    Particle に is used with a range of verbs that indicate the existence or remaining in someplace like いる、ある、住む、隠れる、とどまる、立つ、座る.
    Location towards one moves with verbs like いく、くる、帰る.
    (There are of course other uses like indicating the indirect object of an action (give something TO SOMEONE 彼にあげる), the purpose of movement (to go SHOPPING 買い物に行く) and so on)

    で on the other hand indicates location (except the location of existence - so all the verbs I mentioned that are used with に are in certain way exceptions), therefore it covers many more verbs like 遊ぶ (子供は公園で遊んでいた）、 バイクショップで働いている、教会で歌う. (o...

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