在 meaning in English

zài

to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at

HSK 1verbprepositionadverb6 strokes

Meaning of 在

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zài

to exist; to be alive
(of sb or sth) to be (located) at
(used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

How to use 在

在 (zài) works as a verb meaning "to be at," as a preposition marking where an action happens, and before a verb to show an action in progress. Example: 我在家看书。(Wǒ zài jiā kàn shū.) I am reading at home.

Think of 在 (zài) as a person standing firmly on the ground 土 (tǔ, earth), showing where they are. If you are on the ground somewhere, you exist and you are located there.

Common mistake: Learners often use 是 (shì) for location, saying 我是学校 when they mean "I am at school." Use 在 instead: 我在学校 (wǒ zài xuéxiào). Also do not confuse 在 with 再 (zài, again), which sounds the same but means "once more."

在 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ知zhī道dào你nǐ在zài做zuò什shén么me。

I know what you're doing.

我wǒ知zhī道dào我wǒ在zài做zuò什shén么me。

I know what I'm doing.

你nǐ相xiāng信xìn他tā在zài说shuō实shí话huà吗ma？

Do you believe that he is telling the truth?

你nǐ还hái在zài为wèi我wǒ们men工gōng作zuò吗ma？

Are you still working for us?

我wǒ会huì在zài这zhè里lǐ把bǎ它tā吃chī了le。

I'll eat it here.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

在 zài · to exist · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 在.

现在	xiànzài	now; at present; currently
正在	zhèngzài	to be in the process of (doing sth); to be currently ...-ing
在家	zàijiā	to be at home; (at a workplace) to be in (as opposed to being away on official business 出差
实在	shízài	really; actually
存在	cúnzài	to exist; to be
不在乎	bùzàihu	not to care
在乎	zàihu	to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute); (often used in the negative)
在于	zàiyú	to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute); (of a matter) to be determine
在场	zàichǎng	to be present; to be on the scene
所在	suǒzài	place; location
处在	chǔzài	to be situated at; to find oneself at
在内	zàinèi	(included) in it; among them

Questions about 在

What does 在 mean?

在 (zài) means "to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at" and is used as a verb, preposition and adverb.

How do you write 在?

在 is made of 1 character: 在 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 在 an HSK word?

Yes. 在 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 在 and 正在 for actions in progress?

Both can mark an ongoing action, as in 我在吃饭 or 我正在吃饭 (I am eating). 正在 (zhèngzài) stresses "right at this moment" a bit more strongly. 在 alone is more common in casual speech.

How do I say someone is not here using 在?

Put 不 (bù) before it: 他不在 (tā bú zài) means "He is not here" or "He is not in." This is common on the phone or at an office door. Note that 不 changes to the second tone, bú, before the fourth tone of 在.