(zài) - at, in, on; to be located at; progressive marker in Mandarin
zàiTraditional: 在
Translation
at, in, on; to be located at; progressive marker
Word origin
在 (zài) means 'to be at, in, on'. It is a phono-semantic compound combining 土 (tǔ, 'earth') for the sense of location with 才 (cái) supplying the sound.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 土 (tǔ, 'earth', for location) + 才 (cái, phonetic)
Stroke order
在
Examples
。
I am at home.
。
He is watching television.
。
The book is on the table.
。
The children are playing in the garden.
。
The answer is in this book.
在 (zài) marks location, existence, or an action in progress, and is one of the most used words in Mandarin.
Appears in 10 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 在.
Used in
Stories
(16)在这里
1 min read · Core 1000
不知道在哪里
2 min read · Core 1000
点错了
2 min read · Core 1000
错过公车
3 min read · Core 1000
大伟的工作
3 min read · Core 1000
迷路
3 min read · Core 1000
生日的惊喜
3 min read · Core 1000
下雨的下午
3 min read · Core 1000
新邻居
3 min read · Core 1000
一起做饭
3 min read · Core 1000
早上的市场
3 min read · Core 1000
最后的车
3 min read · Core 1000
今年去哪里
4 min read · Core 1000
卖东西的地方
4 min read · Core 1000
新工作的第一天
4 min read · Core 1000
错过的火车
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(20)Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Co-verbs: 从, 到, 在, 用, 坐, 给 - the Prepositions That Look Like Verbs
Concession in Mandarin: 虽然...还是/但是, 不过, and 还是 (Although, Even So, Nonetheless)
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
Mandarin Existential and Presentative Sentences: 有, 出现, 发生 and Why New Things Go After the Verb
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Location and Existence: 在 for Where, 有 for There Is, and the 上/下/里/外 Position Words
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Serial Verb Constructions in Mandarin: 我去商店买东西 and Stacking Verbs in Sequence
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 1.