HSK 5 · Verbs

存在 cúnzài “to exist” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 存在 means

  1. to exist
  2. to be
  3. existence

How to say 存在

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale存cún2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale在zài4th tone, falling

存在 in a sentence

  1. 黑洞存在吗？

    Hēidòng cúnzài ma?

    Do black holes exist?

    Sentence #8496270 from Tatoeba

  2. 我不相信这样的事情存在。

    Wǒ bù xiāngxìn zhèyàng de shìqing cúnzài.

    I don’t believe such things exist.

    Sentence #879200 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 地球上存在多种多样的文化。

    Dìqiú shàng cúnzài duōzhǒng-duōyàng de wénhuà.

    Many different cultures exist on Earth.

    Sentence #1891601 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 存在 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 存 (cún) with each of its parts in a different colour
存cúnto exist
  • 才ability · cáiSound part
  • 子child · zǐMeaning part

子 hints at the meaning (child); 才 (cái) hints at the sound. Compare it with cún.

The character 在 (zài) with each of its parts in a different colour
在zàito exist; to be alive
  • 才ability · cáiSound part
  • 土earth · tǔMeaning part

土 hints at the meaning (earth); 才 (cái) hints at the sound. Compare it with zài.

How to write 存在

存 6 strokes · 在 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

存在 (cúnzài) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 存在 (cúnzài). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 存在

Words with 存

存cún · to exist保存bǎocún · to conserve储存chǔcún · to store生存shēngcún · to survive

Words with 在

在zài · to be at现在xiànzài · now正在zhèngzài · in the process of实在shízài · really在乎zàihu · to care about在于zàiyú · to lie in内在nèizài · inner在意zàiyì · to care about

More words: Common Verbs

刺激cìjī · to stimulate促进cùjìn · to promote (an idea or cause)促使cùshǐ · to induce催cuī · to urge达到dádào · to reach代表dàibiǎo · representative代替dàitì · to replace打交道dǎjiāodào · to come into contact with

FAQs

存在 (cúnzài) means “to exist” or “to be”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it cúnzài: cún with a 2nd tone, then zài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 存在 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type cunzai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 存在 from the suggestions. Typing cunzai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
存在 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.