Chinese word

在

Pronunciation

Pinyinzài

Meaning

  • prepositionat

Example

我在学校上课。wǒ zài xué xiào shàng kè

I have class at school.

Illustration for 在 (at)

More examples

我在家里做作业。wǒ zài jiā lǐ zuò zuò yè

I do my homework at home.

Core concept

Presence is tied to a place or time, and an action unfolds from that setting.

Common phrases

  • 在家里zài jiā lǐ

    at home

  • 在学校zài xué xiào

    at school

Similar words

到dào: Marks the destination or endpoint that an action or movement reaches.
从cóng: Marks the place, time, or point where an action or movement starts.
跟gēn: Marks a person or thing that someone is with or acts together with.

Definition in Chinese

表示人或事物存在于某处或在某一时间发生动作，既可表示位置，也常用于引出动作的进行。biǎo shì rén huò shì wù cún zài yú mǒu chù huò zài mǒu yì shí jiān fā shēng dòng zuò jì kě biǎo shì wèi zhì yě cháng yòng yú yǐn chū dòng zuò de jìn xíng

Word origin

在 (zài, "at; exist") combines 土 (tǔ, "earth") + 才 (cái, "talent"); 土 points to a grounded location, while 才 gives the pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • English marks an ongoing action with a form of be plus an -ing verb, whereas Chinese can place this word before the action verb, so its meaning can extend beyond simple location.

Other meanings

  • onpreposition
  • beverb

Word lists with this word