HSK 2 · Modal Verbs

再 zài “again” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 再 means

  1. again
  2. then
  3. once more
  4. re-
  5. further
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • beyond this point of time
  • (before an adjective) more
  • then (after sth, and not until then)
  • no matter how … (followed by an adjective or verb, and then (usually) 也 or 都 for emphasis)
  • (used to introduce additional information, as in 再则, 再就是 etc)

How to say 再

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale再zài4th tone, falling

再 in a sentence

  1. 我们先吃饭，然后再走。

    Wǒmen xiān chīfàn, ránhòu zài zǒu.

    First we’ll eat, and then we’ll go.

    Sentence #400336 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我明天再做。

    Wǒ míngtiān zài zuò.

    I’ll do it tomorrow.

    Sentence #8734952 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 欢迎再来。

    Huānyíng zài lái.

    Please come again.

    Sentence #340646 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 再 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 再 (zài) with each of its parts in a different colour
再zàiagain; once more; re-
  • 一one · yī
  • 冉tender · rǎn

How to write 再

再 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 再

Words with 再

再见zàijiàn · goodbye再次zàicì · once again一再yízài · again and again再三zàisān · over and over again再接再厉zàijiēzàilì · to keep up the good work

More words: Modal Verbs & Connectors

别bié · don’t可以kěyǐ · can可能kěnéng · maybe要yào · want因为yīnwèi · because所以suǒyǐ · so但是dànshì · but虽然suīrán · although

FAQs

再 (zài) means “again” or “then”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it zài: zài with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 再 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 再 from the suggestions. Typing zai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
再 is an HSK 2 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.