Kilo Lingo
Mandarin grammar Part of Chapter 3

CEFR A1-A2

5 min read

Test yourself (26 questions)

Mandarin 在 vs 有: Location, Existence and 上/下/里

By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 12 October 2026

Mandarin says where a thing is with (zài), thing first: (shū zài zhuōzi shang), the book is on the table. It says what is at a place with (yǒu), place first: (zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū), there's a book on the table. The order is the whole difference.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Pick the verb: 在 (zài) for where a known thing is, 有 (yǒu) for what is at a place.

  1. 我的书 桌子上。 (My book is on the table.)

    wǒ de shū ___ zhuō zi shàng 。 (My book is on the table.)

  2. 桌子上 一本书。 (There's a book on the table.)

    zhuō zi shàng ___ yì běn shū 。 (There's a book on the table.)

  3. 他 学校。 (He's at school.)

    tā ___ xué xiào 。 (He's at school.)

The whole picture

The colours stay the same all page long:

在 zài (is at)有 yǒu (there is)the position wordWhat do the colours mean?
Known thing
Verb
Place
Place
Verb
New thing
JobHanziPinyinEnglish
Where it is。Shǒujī zài zhuōzi shangThe phone is on the table
What's there。Zhuōzi shang yǒu yí ge shǒujīThere's a phone on the table
Not there。Tā bú zài xuéxiàoHe isn't at school
None there。Zhèlǐ méiyǒu rénThere's nobody here
Where?？Nǐ zài nǎr?Where are you?

Pattern 1: Subject + 在 (zài) + Place (location)

Use (zài) to say where a person or thing you both know about is. The thing comes first, in the middle, the place last:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ zài xuéxiào.I'm at school
。Wǒmen zài Zhōngguó.We're in China
。Nǐ de shǒujī zài zhuōzi shang.Your phone is on the table
。Lǎoshī zài jiàoshì li.The teacher is in the classroom

Here (zài) is the main verb, "to be at". In front of another verb it says where the action happens:

  • 。 (Wǒ zài xuéxiào chīfàn.) - I eat at school.

To ask where, put (nǎr) or (nǎlǐ) in the place slot. is the northern, Beijing-flavoured form; is heard everywhere, Taiwan included:

  • ？ (Wǒ de shǒujī zài nǎr?) - Where's my phone?

Pattern 2: Place + 有 (yǒu) + Thing (existence)

Use (yǒu) to say what there is at a place. The place comes first, in the middle, the thing last:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Zhuōzi shang yǒu yí ge shǒujī.There's a phone on the table
。Jiàoshì li yǒu xuéshēng.There are students in the classroom
。Gōngyuán li yǒu yí ge háizi.There's a child in the park

What follows (yǒu) is usually new to the listener: (yí ge shǒujī), a phone. For a phone you both know about, turn the sentence round and use (zài):

  • 。 (Nàge shǒujī zài zhuōzi shang.) - That phone is on the table.

To ask what is there, put (shénme) where the thing goes:

  • ？ (Bīngxiāng li yǒu shénme?) - What's in the fridge?

Negation: 不在 (bú zài) and 没有 (méiyǒu)

Each verb keeps its own negative. (zài) takes (bù), said bú before it; (yǒu) takes (méi), always:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Tā bú zài zhèlǐ.He isn't here
。Wǒ bú zài xuéxiào.I'm not at school
。Jiàoshì li méiyǒu rén.There's nobody in the classroom
。Bīngxiāng li méiyǒu niúnǎi.There's no milk in the fridge

(bù yǒu) does not exist; the rule is on possession with 有. For the past, (méi zài) is heard as well as :

  • 。 (Tā zuótiān méi zài xuéxiào.) - He wasn't at school yesterday.

Position words: 上 (shàng), 下 (xià), 里 (lǐ) and friends

An ordinary noun is a thing, not a place. To make it a place, Mandarin adds a position word AFTER it: "table-on", (zhuōzi shang). Said after a noun, and usually go light, shang and li; keeps its xià.

在 zài (is at)有 yǒu (there is)the position wordWhat do the colours mean?
Six small panels with a grey cat and a yellow box: the cat sits on the box; the cat sits under the box, which stands on legs like a little table; the cat pokes its head out of the open box; the cat sits beside the box; the cat peeks over the top from behind the box with its tail sticking out; the cat sits in front of the box.

Where is the cat? 猫在箱子上 māo zài xiāngzi shang, on the box; 下 xià, under; 里 li, in; 旁边 pángbiān, beside; 后面 hòumian, behind; 前面 qiánmian, in front of.

ShortLong formPinyin (long)Means
shàngmianon, above
xiàmianunder, below
lǐmianin, inside
wàimianoutside
qiánmianin front
hòumianbehind
-pángbiānnext to, beside
-zhōngjiānin the middle

After a noun, either length works, and in speech (qián) and (hòu) usually take the long form:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Māo zài zhuōzi xià.The cat is under the table
。Shǒujī zài yǐzi shang.The phone is on the chair
。Shāngdiàn zài xuéxiào pángbiān.The shop is next to the school
。Diànyǐngyuàn zài shāngdiàn hòumian.The cinema is behind the shop

On its own, with no noun in front, use the long form:

  • ？ (Shàngmian yǒu shénme?) - What's on top?

Place names and nouns that already name a place stand alone. Both of these are right:

  • 。 (Wǒ zài xuéxiào.) - I'm at school.
  • 。 (Wǒ zài xuéxiào li.) - I'm inside the school.

Positional phrases with 的 (de): "the X on the Y"

Put (de) between a place phrase and a noun and you say which one you mean:

HanziPinyinEnglish
qiáng shang de huàthe picture on the wall
zhuōzi shang de shūthe book on the table
wǒ pángbiān de rénthe person next to me

The pattern is place + position word + (de) + noun, and the whole phrase works as one noun:

  • 。 (Zhuōzi shang de shū shì wǒ de.) - The book on the table is mine.

Pattern 3: Place + 是 (shì) + Thing (descriptive location)

(yǒu) says something is there. (shì) says what it is, when you already take it that the place holds something:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ pángbiān yǒu rén.There's someone next to me
。Wǒ pángbiān shì wǒ de péngyou.The one next to me is my friend
。Wǒ jiā qiánmian shì yí ge gōngyuán.In front of my house is a park

When in doubt, use (zài) or (yǒu): the pattern is the rarer one.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
。。a table needs (shàng) to be a place
。。place first takes (yǒu)
。。a known thing first takes (zài)
。。 (yǒu) only takes (méi)

Location with (zài) and (shì), and positional phrases with (de), are on the AQA GCSE Chinese specification at Foundation and Higher tier.

What to do next

  1. Do the drill below, saying each sentence aloud with its position word.
  2. Look around the room and say where three things are: (shǒujī zài zhuōzi shang).
  3. Then read measure words, for the (yì běn) in .

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/6

Pick the verb: 在 (zài) for where a known thing is, 有 (yǒu) for what is at a place.

  1. 我的书 桌子上。 (My book is on the table.)

    wǒ de shū ___ zhuō zi shàng 。 (My book is on the table.)

  2. 桌子上 一本书。 (There's a book on the table.)

    zhuō zi shàng ___ yì běn shū 。 (There's a book on the table.)

  3. 他 学校。 (He's at school.)

    tā ___ xué xiào 。 (He's at school.)

  4. 公园里 很多人。 (There are lots of people in the park.)

    gōng yuán lǐ ___ hěn duō rén 。 (There are lots of people in the park.)

  5. 老师 教室里。 (The teacher is in the classroom.)

    lǎo shī ___ jiào shì lǐ 。 (The teacher is in the classroom.)

  6. 冰箱里 什么？ (What's in the fridge?)

    bīng xiāng lǐ ___ shén me ？ (What's in the fridge?)

Complete the story

0/5

Choose 在 (zài), 有 (yǒu) or 没有 (méiyǒu) for each gap.

Where's my phone?

我的手机哪儿？桌子上手机吗？桌子上。椅子下一只猫。啊，我的手机椅子上！

Gap 1 of 5

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

  1. bīng xiāng lǐ zài niú nǎi ma ？

  2. zhuō zi shàng zài yì běn shū 。

  3. jiā lǐ bù yǒu rén 。

  4. wǒ de shǒu jī yǒu yǐ zi shàng 。

Put the words in order

0/3

Put the words in order.

  1. The cat is under the table.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. There's a book on the table.

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. Where's my phone?

    Your sentence is empty.

Matching

0/4

Match each phrase to its English.

Pick the picture

0/4

Which picture shows it?

  1. 他在房子里面。

    tā zài fáng zi lǐ miàn 。

  2. 他在房子外面。

    tā zài fáng zi wài miàn 。

  3. 球在桌子下面。

    qiú zài zhuō zi xià miàn 。

  4. 它在箱子后面。

    tā zài xiāng zi hòu miàn 。

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between (zài) and (yǒu)?
(zài) says where a known thing is, and the thing comes first: (shū zài zhuōzi shang), the book is on the table. (yǒu) says what there is at a place, and the place comes first: (zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū), there's a book on the table.
Why do you need (shang) or (li) after a place in Mandarin?
An ordinary noun is a thing, not a place, so it needs a position word after it: (zhuōzi shang), on the table; (fángjiān li), in the room. Place names and words that already name a place, such as (jiā, home) and (xuéxiào, school), can stand alone: (wǒ zài xuéxiào), I'm at school.
How do you say 'is not here' in Mandarin?
(bú zài): (tā bú zài zhèlǐ), he isn't here. For 'there isn't any', use (méiyǒu): (bīngxiāng li méiyǒu niúnǎi), there's no milk in the fridge.
How do you ask 'where is it?' in Mandarin?
Keep the statement order and put (nǎr) or (nǎlǐ) where the place goes: ？ (nǐ de shǒujī zài nǎr?), where's your phone? is the northern, Beijing-flavoured form; is heard everywhere, including Taiwan.
What does (qiáng shang de huà) mean?
The picture on the wall. A place phrase with (de) in front of a noun says which one you mean: (zhuōzi shang de shū), the book on the table; (wǒ pángbiān de rén), the person next to me.