(cún zài) - to exist; existence in Mandarin
cúnzàiTraditional: 存在
Translation
to exist; existence
Word origin
The word 存在 combines 存 'to exist, to keep' with 在 'to be present, at'. 在 is built on the 土 (earth) element with 才 (cái) as phonetic, conveying presence at a place. Together they mean 'to exist' or 'existence'.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 存 (cún, to keep) + 在 (zài, to be present: 土 earth + 才 phonetic)
Stroke order
存
在
Examples
。
This problem still exists.
？
Do you believe in the existence of ghosts?
。
Whatever exists is rational.
。
This problem has always existed.
谊。
Their friendship has always existed.
存在 (cún zài) means to exist or existence. 存 means to preserve or store and 在 means to be at/present, together suggesting something that is present and persists. In philosophy it is used to translate existence (存在主义, existentialism). In everyday contexts it describes whether something exists (问题存在, the problem exists) or the act of something persisting (长期存在, to exist for a long time). The famous Hegelian phrase 存在即合理 (whatever is real is rational) circulates widely in Chinese intellectual discourse.
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 12.