着 meaning in English
aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state
Meaning of 着
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state
- variant of 著|着[zhe5]
- a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2])
- trick; tactic
- (dialect) okay; all right
- (dialect) to put in; to add
- to touch
- to come in contact with
- to feel
- to be affected by
- to catch fire
- to burn
- (coll.) to fall asleep
- (after a verb) hitting the mark
How to use 着
As the neutral-tone particle zhe, 着 follows a verb to show an ongoing action or a lasting state, often in descriptions. Example: 门开着。(Mén kāi zhe.) The door is open. It also appears in common words like 随着 (suízhe, along with) and 意味着 (yìwèizhe, to mean).
The top of 着 looks like 羊 (yáng, sheep) and the bottom is 目 (mù, eye). Picture an eye keeping watch on a sheep, an ongoing action, which matches its job of marking something still in progress.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 着 as zhe, but in 睡着 (shuìzháo, to fall asleep), 着火 (zháohuǒ, to catch fire) and 着急 (zháojí, anxious) it is zháo with a second tone. Also do not confuse 着 with 看 (kàn), which has a similar top and an eye 目 at the bottom.
着 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
着 zhe · aspect particle indicating action in pr… · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 着.
| 接着 | jiēzhe | to catch and hold on; to continue |
| 睡着 | shuìzháo | to fall asleep |
| 着火 | zháohuǒ | to catch fire |
| 着急 | zháojí | to worry; to feel anxious; to feel a sense of urgency; to be in a hurry |
| 意味着 | yìwèizhe | to signify; to mean |
| 随着 | suízhe | along with; in the wake of |
| 有着 | yǒuzhe | to have; to possess |
| 用不着 | yòngbuzháo | not need; have no use for |
| 沿着 | yánzhe | to go along; to follow |
| 指着 | zhǐzhe | |
| 背着 | bèizhe | carrying on one's back |
| 用得着 | yòngdezháo | to be able to use; useable; to have a use for; (in a question) to be necessary to |
Questions about 着
What does 着 mean?
着 (zhe) means "aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state" and is used as a auxiliary verb and verb.
How do you write 着?
着 is made of 1 character: 着 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 着 an HSK word?
Yes. 着 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 着 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 着 is written 著.
What is the difference between 着 (zhe) and 在 (zài) for ongoing actions?
在 before a verb stresses that an action is happening right now, as in 他在吃饭 (tā zài chīfàn, he is eating). 着 after a verb stresses a continuing state or the manner of an action, as in 他笑着说 (tā xiàozhe shuō, he said with a smile).
How do I know whether to say zhe, zháo or zhāo?
After a verb as a grammar particle it is usually zhe. When it means touching, catching fire, falling asleep or succeeding, as in 找着了 (zhǎozháo le, found it), it is zháo. When it means a move or trick, as in 高着 (gāozhāo, a clever move), it is zhāo.