Dictionary › 现在

现在

xiàn zài

Old HSK 1 HSK 3.0 level 1 2-character word Traditional 現在

现在 (xiàn zài) means "now". It is an HSK 3.0 level 1 word, and was HSK 1 in the old six-level list.

What 现在 means

1. now; at present; currently

How 现在 is used in grammar

现在 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.

• Time Expressions as Adverbials (HSK 1)

The characters in 现在

• 现xiànto appear; present; now
• 在zàito exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at…

Example sentences

• 现在忙
  Xiànzài máng
  Busy right now.
• 现在呢？
  And now?
• 现在睡。
  Sleep now.
• 现在去！
  Go now!
• 现在走！
  Go now!
• 现在售票。
  Xiànzài shòu piào.
  Tickets are on sale now.

Words starting with 现在

• 现在式xiàn zài shìpresent tense
• 现在分词xiàn zài fēn cípresent participle (in English grammar)

Words containing 现在

• 到现在dào xiàn zàiup until now; to date
• 直到现在zhí dào xiàn zàieven now; until now; right up to the present

Where 现在 is taught

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

Go deeper

• Every HSK 1 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read xiàn zài correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.