を中心に details
centred on N; with N at the heart of it
この町は駅を中心に発展してきた。
kono machi wa ekiochuushinni hatten shite kita.
This town has grown up centred on the station. neutral
このアプリ、若い子を中心にはやってるらしいよ。
kono apuri, wakai ko o chuushin ni hayatteru rashii yo.
Apparently this app is catching on mostly among younger kids. casual
- formal
- adnominal
- adnominal
Examples
centred on N — an activity, a discussion or a spread gathers around N, which may be a person, a place or a topic
この町は駅を中心に発展してきた。
kono machi wa ekiochuushinni hatten shite kita.
This town has grown up centred on the station. neutral
このアプリ、若い子を中心にはやってるらしいよ。
kono apuri, wakai ko o chuushin ni hayatteru rashii yo.
Apparently this app is catching on mostly among younger kids. casual
会議では、来年度の予算を中心に話し合った。
kaigi de wa, rainendo no yosan o chuushin ni hanashiatta.
At the meeting we talked mainly about next year's budget. neutral
本事業は、地元の企業を中心として進めてまいります。
hon jigyou wa, jimoto no kigyou o chuushin to shite susumete mairimasu.
We will carry this undertaking forward with local companies at its heart. formal
Formation
{N}を中心にattaches to noun
Variant notes
- を中心として — the stiffer twin, for reports, plans and speeches; として leans on the literal "as the nucleus", so it is what a formal write-up of an organizing body reaches for — 学生を中心として運動が広がった。
- を中心とした — what goes directly before a noun — 駅を中心とした街づくり. を中心に cannot: ×駅を中心の街づくり.
- を中心とする — the non-past twin of を中心とした, used when the description is a standing fact — 若者を中心とする客層。
Notes
若者を中心に広がった leaves plenty of room for
everyone else.
Related patterns
Similar
について names the whole topic and claims nothing sits outside it; を中心に names only where the weight falls and leaves the edges open — 予算について話した covers the budget and stops there, 予算を中心に話した says other things came up too.
をめぐって needs N to be contested — opinions pull against each other over it (跡地をめぐって対立する) — while を中心に needs no disagreement at all and works equally for a hub everyone is happy with.
Lookalikes
Both read as を+noun+に and both English up as "based around", but を基に names the RAW MATERIAL something new is built out of (証言を基に記事を書く), while を中心に names the point activity gathers around and produces nothing from it.