中継（ちゅうけい、chuukei）
- relay broadcast

The Japanese word 中継 (ちゅうけい, *chūkei*) primarily means "relay," "broadcast," or "coverage." It refers to the transmission of an event or information from one place to another, often in real-time. It can apply to a live broadcast of a sporting event, a news report, or the act of relaying a message. It encompasses both the act of transmitting and the content being transmitted. Think of it as a bridge connecting two points, allowing information to flow across.

⚫︎サッカーの試合をテレビで中継する。 Translation: They broadcast the soccer game on TV. ⚫︎地震の被害の中継を見る。 Translation: I watch the coverage of the earthquake damage. ⚫︎彼はイベントの中継を担当している。 Translation: He is in charge of broadcasting the event.

You use 中継 when discussing live broadcasts, reporting on events in real-time, or the process of relaying information. It's suitable for situations involving media coverage (TV, radio, internet), or even the direct relay of messages. In conversation, it's often used with verbs like する (*suru*, to do/to broadcast), 行う (*okonau*, to conduct/to relay), or 見る (*miru*, to watch/to see). You'll typically encounter it in news reports, sports commentaries, or discussions about live events.

中継 is typically written in kanji. The reading is ちゅうけい in hiragana. There are no other common ways to write this word. The okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) is fixed in 中継. The kanji are always used together.

⚫︎ 放送 (*housou*, broadcast) ⚫︎ 報道 (*houdou*, report/news coverage) ⚫︎ 伝達 (*dentatsu*, transmission/communication)

There aren't direct antonyms for 中継 in the sense of a single word. However, you could consider words related to events not being relayed or broadcast, such as: ⚫︎ 録画 (*rokuga*, recording) ⚫︎ 事後報告 (*jigo houkoku*, reporting after the fact)

オリンピックの開会式は世界中に中継される。 ・Translation: The opening ceremony of the Olympics will be broadcast worldwide. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 中継 to describe the global broadcast of the Olympic opening ceremony.

あのニュース番組は、現場から中継を行っている。 ・Translation: That news program is broadcasting live from the scene. ・Explanation: This sentence shows how 中継 is used to describe a live broadcast from the location of an event.

中継 is a compound word. 中 (*chuu*) means "middle," "center," or "within," and 継 (*kei*) means "to continue," "to inherit," or "to connect." Therefore, 中継 literally means "to connect in the middle," accurately reflecting its meaning of relaying or broadcasting information from one point to another.