Japanese symbol for “midlife”

中年

ちゅうねん

Romaji: chuunen

middle-age; middle age; midlife; one's middle years

In Japanese, midlife is 中年, read ちゅうねん (chuunen).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

adj-no, n middle-age; middle age; midlife; one's middle years

Kanji and stroke order

中

in, inside, middle

on: チュウ
kun: なか、うち、あた.る

4 strokes · JLPT 4

年

year, counter for years

on: ネン
kun: とし

6 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
中心	ちゅうしん chuushin	center; centre; middle
途中	とちゅう tochuu	on the way; en route
中央	ちゅうおう chuuou	centre; center; middle
集中	しゅうちゅう shuuchuu	concentration (on a task); focusing one's attention
中止	ちゅうし chuushi	interruption; discontinuance; suspension
中身	なかみ nakami	contents; interior; filling
今年	ことし kotoshi	this year
年間	ねんかん nenkan	(period of) a year

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.