在 zài — to be at, to be in, to exist, to be present; at, in, on (before a place); (before a verb) the progressive marker
zài (fourth tone, falling)
to be at, to be in, to exist, to be present; at, in, on (before a place); (before a verb) the progressive marker
6 strokesRadical 土Frequency #8
Pinyin
- zài (fourth tone, falling)
to be at, to be in, to exist, to be present; at, in, on (before a place); (before a verb) the progressive marker
Character breakdown
Ideographic description
⿸𠂇土The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 𠂇sound partno entry yetWhat is left of 才 cái, a sprout breaking the surface, which gave the character its sound.
- 土meaning partno entry yetThe earth: to be somewhere is to be on the ground at a place.
Mnemonic
A sprout above the earth 土 — something present on the ground. Three jobs, and they are the backbone of elementary Chinese. A verb: 他在家, he is at home. A preposition of place, which comes before the verb: 我在图书馆看书 — never after it. And a marker of an action in progress: 他在打电话, he is on the phone.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.