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正在

zhèngzài

in the middle of (doing), -ing

HSK 1 · Topic “Little words” TimeAdverbs
in the middle of (doing), -ing
Memory picture

Characters in this word

正 zhèng

Strokes
5
Radical
止 — to stop, to halt
Made of
一 one 止 to stop, to halt
How it's built
Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts

在 zài

Strokes
6
Radical
土 — soil, earth
Made of
才 ability, talent, gift 土 soil, earth
How it's built
Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound

Example phrases

  • 妈妈正在做饭。 Māma zhèngzài zuòfàn. Mom is cooking right now.
  • 爸爸正在看书。 Bàba zhèngzài kàn shū. Dad is reading right now.
  • 我们正在学中文。 Wǒmen zhèngzài xué Zhōngwén. We're learning Chinese right now.
  • 李月正在吃饭。 Lǐ Yuè zhèngzài chīfàn. Li Yue is eating now.
  • 爸爸正在工作。 Bàba zhèngzài gōngzuò. Dad is working now.
  • 李月正在看书。 Lǐ Yuè zhèngzài kànshū. Li Yue is reading a book now.
  • 正在下雨，别出去！ Zhèngzài xiàyǔ, bié chūqù! It is raining; don't go out!
  • 李月正在做什么呢？ Lǐ Yuè zhèngzài zuò shénme ne? What is Li Yue doing now?
  • 王明正在开会。 Wángmíng zhèngzài kāihuì. Wang Ming is having a meeting now.
  • 王明，你正在做什么？ Wángmíng, nǐ zhèngzài zuò shénme? Wang Ming, what are you doing now?

Related words

All HSK 1 words →