What is the 中 in ダウンロード中？


I was downloading an update for a phone game I set in Japanese and on the
screen it said 「ダウンロード中」and I don’t understand the use of 中. Middle? In the
middle of downloading?




Yes, you are correct that 中 (ちゅう) in this case means "in the middle of ～ ".
For your sentence, the simple translation "downloading" is probably the most
natural.

It is fairly common to combine a noun with the suffix 中(ちゅう) to express the
idea of the `"currently in the process of (NOUN)"`. A few examples of `NOUN +
中`:

> 保留{ほりゅう} deferment, holding: 保留中{ほりゅうちゅう} on hold ('in the middle of
> holding').
>
> 貸{か}し出{だ}し lending, loaning: 貸{か}し出{だ}し中{ちゅう} on loan ('in the middle of
> loaning).
>
> 稼働{かどう} operation (of a machine): 稼働中{かどうちゅう} in operation ('in the middle
> of operation').

You might be wondering "Why not just use the `VERB ～ている` form instead?". For
example, using ダウンロードしている. But to use an active form like that you generally
need to identify the subject of the verb, and it is not always expedient to do
that. Using `NOUN + 中` is a useful way to describe the state where some
process is happening but you don't have to specify who or what is performing
the action.




Yes, you are correct that 中 (ちゅう) in this case means "in the middle of ～ ".
For your sentence, the simple translation "downloading" is probably the most
natural.

It is fairly common to combine a noun with the suffix 中(ちゅう) to express the
idea of the `"currently in the process of (NOUN)"`. A few examples of `NOUN +
中`:

> 保留{ほりゅう} deferment, holding: 保留中{ほりゅうちゅう} on hold ('in the middle of
> holding').
>
> 貸{か}し出{だ}し lending, loaning: 貸{か}し出{だ}し中{ちゅう} on loan ('in the middle of
> loaning).
>
> 稼働{かどう} operation (of a machine): 稼働中{かどうちゅう} in operation ('in the middle
> of operation').

You might be wondering "Why not just use the `VERB ～ている` form instead?". For
example, using ダウンロードしている. But to use an active form like that you generally
need to identify the subject of the verb, and it is not always expedient to do
that. Using `NOUN + 中` is a useful way to describe the state where some
process is happening but you don't have to specify who or what is performing
the action.

