在

zài

Pinyin
zài
Pinyin (Plain)
zai
Tone
4
Strokes
6
Radical
土
Readings
zàizaiTone: 4to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)Order: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 448 583 Q 554 605 668 624 Q 743 640 754 649 Q 764 658 759 667 Q 752 680 720 689 Q 689 696 655 684 Q 570 656 478 635 Q 474 634 471 633 L 415 623 Q 339 611 256 603 Q 216 599 244 579 Q 284 554 362 568 Q 375 571 391 572 L 448 583 Z", "M 327 374 Q 385 452 448 583 L 471 633 Q 520 736 550 769 Q 566 785 560 799 Q 551 830 496 853 Q 480 862 461 855 Q 448 846 457 833 Q 475 808 474 781 Q 474 747 415 623 L 391 572 Q 346 484 297 414 L 266 372 Q 262 368 259 363 Q 192 281 47 162 Q 34 147 46 144 Q 52 141 66 149 Q 178 203 273 306 L 327 374 Z", "M 273 306 Q 273 180 248 79 Q 236 28 270 -11 Q 271 -14 274 -16 Q 290 -32 302 -6 Q 317 34 316 79 Q 317 302 324 351 Q 327 364 327 374 C 327 377 316 391 297 414 Q 285 432 262 443 Q 252 444 249 438 Q 243 426 266 372 L 273 306 Z", "M 623 312 Q 671 324 721 333 Q 767 345 775 351 Q 784 358 779 368 Q 772 380 742 387 Q 718 393 625 363 L 572 348 Q 571 349 569 348 Q 505 333 430 326 Q 393 319 419 302 Q 464 278 522 293 Q 544 299 573 302 L 623 312 Z", "M 614 133 Q 618 226 623 312 L 625 363 Q 628 423 643 486 Q 647 498 626 512 Q 590 531 566 535 Q 550 538 542 529 Q 535 522 543 507 Q 567 473 567 449 Q 570 400 572 348 L 573 302 Q 574 220 571 128 C 570 98 613 103 614 133 Z", "M 571 128 Q 477 118 370 104 Q 348 101 364 83 Q 379 68 398 62 Q 420 56 438 61 Q 567 94 842 93 Q 855 93 872 92 Q 894 92 899 101 Q 905 114 887 129 Q 824 177 763 157 Q 702 148 614 133 L 571 128 Z"]
Meaning
在 generally means “to be located at/in/on” a place, and is used to talk about where someone or something is (e.g., 我在学校 “I am at school”). It’s also used before verbs to show an action is in progress, similar to “be doing” in English (e.g., 我在吃饭 “I am eating”).
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/8/2026, 3:35:48 PM

Usage

“在” is most commonly used as a verb meaning “to be (located) at/in/on.” It answers “where?” questions and marks location before a place word: 我在家 “I am at home,” 他在学校 “He is at school.” It also appears in phrases about existence in a place, like 桌子上有一本书 “There is a book on the table,” where 在 can be used in patterns such as 在桌子上有一本书. Learners quickly meet it in basic sentences describing where people or things are, or where an action takes place. “在” is also a key marker of ongoing actions, similar to the English “-ing” form. Placed before a verb, it indicates something is happening right now: 我在吃饭 “I’m eating,” 他在看书 “He’s reading.” In this use, 在 often appears with time words (现在在…, 正在…) and is one of the first aspect markers learners are taught. These two functions—location and “in the middle of doing something”—are the main, everyday uses of 在 that appear in beginner and intermediate materials.

Handwriting Notes

在 is visually quite compact in handwriting, with a “roof-like” top element and a more open, horizontal structure at the bottom. The top part (⺕/𠂉 shape) tends to be written as a slightly slanted, flowing form rather than a rigid box, and the bottom part stretches left–right, giving the character a low, wide feel rather than a tall one. In neat handwriting, the horizontal lines are usually parallel and the vertical elements are fairly centered, so the character looks balanced and not tilted to one side. Handwritten forms vary in how rounded or angular they appear, and in how tightly the parts connect. Some writers compress the top so it’s almost a single sweeping curve, while others keep it more squared. The central vertical component can look quite short or long, and the lower left stroke may be light and quick in cursive hands, sometimes blending with nearby strokes. Despite these differences, the overall silhouette—compact, with a “cap” over a horizontally stretched base—is stable enough that both humans and AI-based handwriting recognition systems can usually identify 在 reliably, even from messy or stylized writing.

Description

在 is a common Chinese character meaning “to be (located) at/in/on” or “to be present in/at” a place or situation. It is also used as a preposition to mark where or when an action happens, as in 在学校 “at school” or 在晚上 “in the evening.”

Common Words

  • 在zai4to exist; to be alive
  • 内在nei4 zai4inner
  • 在下zai4 xia4under
  • 在前zai4 qian2ahead
  • 在外zai4 wai4outer

Example Sentences

我喜欢在。

wo3 xi3 huan5 zai4

I like to exist; to be alive.

内在很常见。

nei4 zai4 hen3 chang2 jian4

内在 is very common.

我们在学习在下。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 zai4 xia4

We are learning under.

这个在前很重要。

zhe4 ge5 zai4 qian2 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This ahead is important.

请写一下“在”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 zai4

Please write '在'.

Try writing this character