HSK 1·Prepositions

在 (zai): Saying Where Something Is

在 is the Swiss-army knife of Chinese location. It works as both a verb ("to be at") and a preposition ("at/in"), and knowing where to put it unlocks how Chinese builds any sentence about place.

在 as a verb: "to be at / to be in"

When 在 (zài) is the main verb, it means "to be located at". The structure is: Subject + 在 + Location.

  • 他在家。 (Tā zài jiā.) — He is at home.
  • 书在桌子上。 (Shū zài zhuōzi shàng.) — The book is on the table.
  • 我在北京。 (Wǒ zài Běijīng.) — I am in Beijing.

在 as a preposition: placing action in space

When 在 introduces the location where an action happens, it comes before the main verb — not after. The word order is: Subject + 在 + Place + Verb + Object.

  • 他在图书馆学习。 (Tā zài túshūguǎn xuéxí.) — He studies in the library.
  • 我们在公园散步。 (Wǒmen zài gōngyuán sànbù.) — We walk in the park.
  • 她在家做饭。 (Tā zài jiā zuòfàn.) — She cooks at home.

Location words: attaching 上/下/里/旁边

To be precise about where something is, attach a position word directly after the place noun. These are called location nouns (方位词).

WordPinyinMeaning
上shàngon / above
下xiàunder / below
里 / 里面lǐ / lǐmiàninside
外 / 外面wài / wàimiànoutside
旁边pángbiānbeside / next to
前面qiánmiànin front of
后面hòumiànbehind
左边zuǒbiānon the left
右边yòubiānon the right
中间zhōngjiānin the middle

Attach the location noun to a place: 桌子上 (on the table), 房间里 (inside the room), 学校旁边 (next to the school).

Asking 在哪儿 / 在哪里 (where is…?)

To ask where something is, use 在哪儿 (zài nǎr, northern/Beijing) or 在哪里 (zài nǎlǐ, southern/formal). Place them at the end of the subject.

  • 你的书在哪儿？ — Where is your book?
  • 图书馆在哪里？ — Where is the library?
  • 他在哪儿工作？ — Where does he work?

Negation

Negate 在 with 不在 (bú zài): 他不在家。 (He is not at home.) When negating a 在-preposition sentence, negate the main verb instead: 他在图书馆不学习 is awkward — say 他不在图书馆学习 instead.

Examples

ChinesePinyinEnglish
他在家。Tā zài jiā.He is at home.
我在北京工作。Wǒ zài Běijīng gōngzuò.I work in Beijing.
书在桌子上。Shū zài zhuōzi shàng.The book is on the table.
他在图书馆学习。Tā zài túshūguǎn xuéxí.He studies in the library.
猫在沙发下面。Māo zài shāfā xiàmiàn.The cat is under the sofa.
你的手机在哪儿？Nǐ de shǒujī zài nǎr?Where is your phone?
她不在办公室。Tā bú zài bàngōngshì.She is not in the office.
我们在公园散步。Wǒmen zài gōngyuán sànbù.We walk in the park.

Common mistakes

我学习在图书馆。
我在图书馆学习。

In Chinese, the location phrase (在图书馆) must come before the verb, not after it. English places the location at the end; Chinese does not.

他是图书馆。 (trying to say "He is at the library.")
他在图书馆。

Use 在 for location, not 是. 是 equates two nouns; 在 places something in space.

书在桌子。 (omitting the position word)
书在桌子上。

When saying something is "on", "in", or "under" a noun, you must add a location word like 上, 里, or 下 after the place noun. Bare nouns usually need this specifier.

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Test what you just read

5 sections · 25 questions

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  1. 1
    Multiple choice

    Which sentence correctly says "She is in the classroom"?

  2. 2
    True or false

    True or false: 在 and 是 are interchangeable when talking about location.

  3. 3
    Fill in the blank

    Translate: "My friend is at school." Use 我的朋友 and 学校.

  4. 4
    Build the sentence

    Arrange the words to say "The cat is under the chair."

    Words: 猫 · 在 · 椅子 · 下面 · 。

  5. 5
    Multiple choice

    How do you ask "Where is the restroom?" in Chinese?

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