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
正在
zhèngzài
in the middle of (doing), -ing
Characters in this word
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.