中 編(ちゅうへん)

ちゅうへん

noun

novella; medium-length work; middle volume

1. novella; medium-length work

A literary or cinematic work of medium length — longer than a short story or short film but shorter than a full-length novel or feature film.

中編(ちゅうへん)小説(しょうせつ)を書(か)いた。

I wrote a novella.

この映画(えいが)は中編(ちゅうへん)で、約(やく)六十(ろくじゅう)分(ぷん)だ。

This is a medium-length film, about sixty minutes.

中編(ちゅうへん)小説(しょうせつ)は短編(たんぺん)と長編(ちょうへん)の間(あいだ)の長(なが)さだ。

A novella is a length between a short story and a novel.

2. middle volume; middle part

The middle part of a multi-volume series, typically in a three-part (上(じょう)中(ちゅう)下(げ)) structure.

上編(じょうへん)に続(つづ)いて中編(ちゅうへん)を読(よ)んだ。

I read the middle volume after the first.

三部作(さんぶさく)の中編(ちゅうへん)が一番(いちばん)面白(おもしろ)い。

The middle part of the trilogy is the most interesting.

中編(ちゅうへん)は来月(らいげつ)発売(はつばい)予定(よてい)です。

The middle volume is scheduled for release next month.

Has two distinct uses: as a classification of work length (sense 1) and as a position in a multi-volume series (sense 2).

Related words

短編(たんぺん): short work (short story, short film)
長編(ちょうへん): long work (novel, feature film)
上編(じょうへん): first volume / upper volume
下編(かへん): final volume / lower volume

Usage

For sense 1, there is no strict page or word count definition, but a 中編(ちゅうへん)小説(しょうせつ) (novella) is generally considered to be roughly 100-400 pages. For sense 2, 中編(ちゅうへん) is used interchangeably with 中巻(ちゅうかん) in some contexts.

Related Words

Related: 短編(たんぺん) (short work)

Related: 長編(ちょうへん) (long work)

Compare: 短編集(たんぺんしゅう) (short story collection)

general

Added 2026.3.25 12:40 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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