HSK 2 · Time

正在 zhèngzài “in the process of” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 正在 means

  1. in the process of
  2. to be in the process of (doing sth)
  3. to be currently …-ing

How to say 正在

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale正zhèng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale在zài4th tone, falling

正在 in a sentence

  1. 我正在学习汉语。

    Wǒ zhèngzài xuéxí Hànyǔ.

    I’m learning Chinese.

    Sentence #11837133 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我正在找钥匙，你看见了吗？

    Wǒ zhèngzài zhǎo yàoshi, nǐ kànjiàn le ma?

    I’m looking for my keys. Have you seen them?

    Sentence #2317102 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 正在下雨。

    Zhèngzài xiàyǔ.

    It’s raining now.

    Sentence #3952421 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 正在 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 正 (zhèng) with each of its parts in a different colour
正zhèngstraight
  • 一one · yī
  • 止stop · zhǐ

Memory aidPicture a foot 止 heading straight for a line 一: straight, correct.

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 正在

正 5 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.

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

Words related to 正在

Words with 正

正常zhèngcháng · regular正确zhèngquè · correct正式zhèngshì · formal真正zhēnzhèng · genuine正好zhènghǎo · just (in time)正zhèng · just (in the middle of doing something)改正gǎizhèng · to correct反正fǎnzhèng · anyway正月zhēngyuè · first month of the lunar year更正gēngzhèng · to correct

Words with 在

在zài · to be at现在xiànzài · now实在shízài · really存在cúnzài · to exist在乎zàihu · to care about在于zàiyú · to lie in内在nèizài · inner在意zàiyì · to care about

More words: Time

晚上wǎnshang · evening时间shíjiān · time一起yìqǐ · together已经yǐjīng · already还hái · still就jiù · then半bàn · half春chūn · spring season

FAQs

正在 (zhèngzài) means “in the process of” or “to be in the process of (doing sth)”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it zhèngzài: zhèng with a 4th 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. 正在 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhengzai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 正在 from the suggestions. Typing zhengzai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
正在 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.