〜最中に means "right in the middle of" — emphasizes that something occurs at the peak or crucial moment of an activity.
Interruption - Something happens while you''re busy doing X
Critical timing - At the worst/most important moment
Right in the middle of the meeting, the phone rang.
Stronger emphasis on timing than ている時に.
Verb ている + 最中に
- 食べている最中に (in the middle of eating)
Noun の + 最中に
- 会議の最中に (in the middle of a meeting)
Reading: さいちゅう
Right in the middle of the meal, a guest arrived.
There was an earthquake while I was asleep.
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