世界上 | 世界中
sai-3, gai-3, soeng-6 | sai-3, gai-3, dzung-1

in the world
in its entirety | in some part

目的 | Special Topics

The phrases 世界上 and 世界中 both mean in the world, but the worlds to which they refer are not the same. Whereas the first expression refers to the physical world in its entirety, the latter expression refers to a specific part of the world that is set off from the rest and behaves as if it were a world unto itself. In an abstract, metaphysical sense the expressions 世界上 and 世界中 become interchangeable with 世界裡 and the above distinctions disappear. By way of example, consider the following sentences or sentence parts:
世界上	(in the entire world)
1)	太平洋是世界上最大的海洋
	The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest ocean.
2)	尼羅河是世界上最長的一條河流
	The Nile River is the longest river in the world.
世界中	(in a world apart)
1)	他想像的世界中, 人人都是平等的
	In his imagined world everyone is equal.
2)	在上網朊務世界中的業務流程
	business processes of the online service world
3)	漫画世界中的上海
	in the comic world of Shanghai
世界上 世界中 世界裡	世界上甚麼最可貴？ 世界中甚麼最可貴？ 世界裡甚麼最可貴？
1)	What is the most expensive thing in the world?
Grammatical Note: All three phrases can be made into prepositional phrases by placing the character 在 before each. In effect, one can write 在世界上, as well as 在世界中 and 在世界裡.

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