Chinese word

不在

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù zài

Meaning

  • verbnot be there

Example

老师今天不在学校。lǎo shī jīn tiān bú zài xué xiào

The teacher is not at school today.

Illustration for 不在 (not be there)

More examples

我去他公司找他时，发现他不在公司。wǒ qù tā gōng sī zhǎo tā shí fā xiàn tā bú zài gōng sī

When I went to his office to look for him, I found that he was not at the office.

Core concept

A person or thing is temporarily outside the location that matters in the situation.

Common phrases

  • 不在家bú zài jiā

    not be at home

  • 不在学校bú zài xué xiào

    not be at school

  • 不在公司bú zài gōng sī

    not be at the office

Similar words

没来méi lái: Not arriving at a place that the person was expected to come to.
走了zǒu le: Having left a place and gone somewhere else, so no longer being there.
外出wài chū: Being out after leaving home or another place for a while.

Definition in Chinese

表示某人或某物当前不在指定的位置，常用于表示暂时离开或留守期间的不存在。biǎo shì mǒu rén huò mǒu wù dāng qián bú zài zhǐ dìng de wèi zhì cháng yòng yú biǎo shì zàn shí lí kāi huò liú shǒu qī jiān de bù cún zài

Word origin

不 (bù, "not") + 在 (zài, "be at/in") forms a verb meaning that someone or something is not at the relevant place, often because it is away for a time.

Usage tips

  • In daily messages and office notices, this verb reports a person's current status without saying why or when the person will return.

Other meanings

  • being awaynoun
  • absencenoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word