在

zài

preposition HSK 1 #7

Meanings

1 at
2 in
3 on (a place)
4 to exist
5 (indicating an action in progress)

Characters

at; in; to exist

Examples

Wǒ zài jiā.

I'm at home.

他在学校。

Tā zài xuéxiào.

He's at school.

我在看书。

Wǒ zài kàn shū.

I'm reading (right now).

Tips

grammar

在 has three main uses: (1) location — 在家 (at home), (2) existence — 他不在 (he's not here), (3) progressive — 在看书 (is reading).

Stroke Order

在 zài