right in the middle
Loading your saved state.
right in the middle
Describes a position in the spatial middle of something, surrounded by other things or people.
Wir standen mittendrin im Gedränge auf dem Marktplatz.
We were standing right in the middle of the crowd on the market square.
in the middle of
Describes a point in time in the middle of an ongoing event, process, or action.
Ich kann jetzt nicht telefonieren, ich bin mittendrin in einer wichtigen Besprechung.
I can't talk on the phone right now; I'm in the middle of an important meeting.
right in the thick of it
Describes a state in which someone is strongly emotionally or mentally involved in what is happening.
Er war nicht nur Zuschauer, sondern mittendrin im Streit und versuchte zu schlichten.
He was not just a spectator, but right in the thick of the argument and was trying to mediate.
The word is made up of 'mitten' (in the middle) and 'drin' (short for 'darin', meaning in it/inside). So it literally means 'in the middle inside it' and emphasizes that you are at the center of something.
Plötzlich stand ich mittendrin in einer großen Gruppe von Touristen.
Suddenly I was right in the middle of a large group of tourists.
As an adverb, 'mittendrin' (right in the middle) can be placed flexibly in the sentence. It often stands at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize the position, which triggers inversion (verb before subject).
Mittendrin im Film klingelte plötzlich mein Telefon.
Right in the middle of the film, my phone suddenly rang.
Whether 'mittendrin' (right in the middle) is meant spatially, temporally, or emotionally can be recognized from the context. Does it refer to a place (e.g. 'in der Stadt' — in the city), an event (e.g. 'in der Besprechung' — in the meeting), or a situation (e.g. 'im Streit' — in the argument)?
Er war mittendrin im Umzugsstress und hatte keine Zeit.
He was right in the middle of the stress of moving and had no time.
In its temporal meaning, 'mittendrin' (in the middle of it) is often used to say that someone is busy. Typical formulations are 'mittendrin in der Arbeit sein' (to be in the middle of work) or 'mittendrin in einem Projekt stecken' (to be stuck in the middle of a project).
Stör mich bitte nicht, ich bin gerade mittendrin in einer komplizierten Aufgabe.
Please don't disturb me; I'm right in the middle of a complicated task.
right in the middle
Mitten and mittendrin can both express being at a point within an ongoing event. Mitten usually appears with an addition such as „mitten in der Diskussion“, while mittendrin can stand on its own and refer back to the event. Use mitten in when you name the event, and mittendrin when it is already known.
Wir waren mittendrin, als plötzlich der Strom ausfiel.
We were right in the middle of it when the power suddenly went out.
Mitten in der Diskussion fiel plötzlich der Strom aus.
Right in the middle of the discussion, the power suddenly went out.
