Chinese word

着

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhe

Meaning

  • particlebe ___-ing

Example

他看着手机。tā kàn zhe shǒu jī

He is looking at his phone.

Illustration for 着 (be ___-ing)

More examples

她穿着红色的衣服。tā chuān zhe hóng sè de yī fú

She is wearing red clothes.

Core concept

A marker that keeps a verb's action or its resulting state in effect.

Common phrases

  • 看着kàn zhe

    be looking at

  • 穿着chuān zhe

    be wearing

  • 坐着zuò zhe

    be sitting

Similar words

了le: Shows that an action or event has come to an end.
的de: Forms a noun phrase by showing a noun's quality or relationship.

Definition in Chinese

作助词时，跟在动词后，用来标示动作的持续或动作结果所形成的状态仍然保持。zuò zhù cí shí gēn zài dòng cí hòu yòng lái biāo shì dòng zuò de chí xù huò dòng zuò jié guǒ suǒ xíng chéng de zhuàng tài réng rán bǎo chí

Word origin

The particle 着 (zhe, "ongoing-state marker") grew from an older verb-related sense of something being attached or fixed, which suits its modern role of keeping an action or state in place.

Usage tips

  • In speech, this particle is usually light and unstressed, so listening for its position after the main verb is more useful than expecting it to sound like a separate strong word.

Word lists with this word