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正在

zhèng zài

Old HSK 2 HSK 3.0 level 1 2-character word

正在 (zhèng zài) means "just at (that time); in the process of". It is an HSK 3.0 level 1 word, and was HSK 2 in the old six-level list.

What 正在 means

1. to be in the process of (doing sth); to be currently ...-ing

How 正在 is used in grammar

正在 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Progressive Aspect: 在/正在 ... 呢 (HSK 1)
• Progressive Action: 正在…(呢) — Right Now (HSK 2)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 1, adverbs (时间副词).

The characters in 正在

• 正zhèngstraight; upright; proper
• 在zàito exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at…

Example sentences

• 正在下雹。
  It's hailing.
• 正在下雪。
  It's snowing.
• 正在下雨。
  It's raining now.
• 路正在建。
  The road is under construction.
• 我正在值班。
  Wǒ zhèngzài zhíbān.
  I am on duty now.
• 她正在泡茶。
  Tā zhèngzài pàochá.
  She was making tea.

Where 正在 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Conjunctions and Discourse Adverbs (HSK 2), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 2 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read zhèng zài correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.