Differences between 途中 and 途上
Hi!

I would like to know more about the differences between 途上 and 途中.
From examples it seems like 途中 can mean both 'on the way' and 'half way' (i'm seeing more examples for half-way though)
And 途上 appears to be mostly 'on the way'

Is this correct? What would the most commonly used choice for 'half way' and 'en route' be?

Cheers,
Ryan

Question

Differences between 途中 and 途上
Hi!

I would like to know more about the differences between 途上 and 途中.
From examples it seems like 途中 can mean both 'on the way' and 'half way' (i'm seeing more examples for half-way though)
And 途上 appears to be mostly 'on the way'

Is this correct? What would the most commonly used choice for 'half way' and 'en route' be?

Cheers, 
Ryan

Answer

途上 is commonly used  in the words of 開発途上国／発展途上国／途上国. For any other words, we use 途中, I think.

Answer

Thank you for the replies TOMOYUKI and SI. Muroda, your help is very useful and appreciated!

Answer

I don't use the word 途上 in usual conversation. It is a bit formal word. The meaning is same as you wrote.
途中 is used so often.
for example, まだ 途中 (I am still on the way)

Answer

I use 途中 because it can be used wider than 途上   like 帰り道の途中、成長の途中、旅の途中 . 
But 途上 has meanings of movement as proceeding I guess . Meanwhile, 途中can cover 途上's meanings.

Answers · 6

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