Chinese word

趁

Pronunciation

Pinyinchèn

Meaning

  • prepositionwhile

Example

我趁他不在把书拿走了。wǒ chèn tā bú zài bǎ shū ná zǒu le

I took the book away while he wasn't there.

Illustration for 趁 (while)

More examples

你趁现在把工作做完吧。nǐ chèn xiàn zài bǎ gōng zuò zuò wán ba

Finish your work while there's time.

Core concept

An action moves into a favorable time or situation and uses it before it ends.

Common phrases

  • 趁他不在chèn tā bú zài

    while he is away

  • 趁现在chèn xiàn zài

    while there's time

  • 趁着机会chèn zhe jī huì

    take the opportunity

Similar words

趁着chèn zhe: Taking advantage of a favorable opportunity while it is still available.
借着jiè zhe: Using a person, thing, or situation as support for an action.
在...的时候zài de shí hòu: During a particular time or while a particular event is happening.

Definition in Chinese

作介词，用来表示抓住某一时刻或某种情况进行某种动作，侧重利用有利时机，后面常接时间或状态成分。zuò jiè cí yòng lái biǎo shì zhuā zhù mǒu yì shí kè huò móu zhǒng qíng kuàng jìn xíng móu zhǒng dòng zuò cè zhòng lì yòng yǒu lì shí jī hòu miàn cháng jiē shí jiān huò zhuàng tài chéng fèn

Word origin

The word grew from the idea of pursuing or catching up with something, a sense that naturally extended to acting when a favorable opening appears.

Usage tips

  • A sentence with this word often carries more purpose than an English sentence with while, because the timing helps make the action possible or convenient.

Other meanings

  • while there's timeadverb
  • take the opportunityadverb

Related words

Word lists with this word