着: continuous/accompanying state
Use 1 — Continuous state: V+着 shows a state that persists after an action. - 灯开着。(The light is on.) - 他戴着眼镜。(He has his glasses on.)
Use 2 — Accompanying action: V1+着 + V2 = do V2 while V1 is ongoing.
- 她笑着说。(She said it smiling.)
- 他站着等。(He waited standing up.)
Key contrast: 开了 = opened (completed); 开着 = is open (state). 了 ends the action; 着 continues it.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 灯开着，他在客厅里看书。 | Dēng kāi zhe, tā zài kè tīng lǐ kàn shū. | The light is on; he's reading in the living room. | Continuous state: 开着 = the light remains in the open/on state |
| 她微笑着和大家握了握手。 | Tā wēi xiào zhe hé dà jiā wò le wò shǒu. | She shook hands with everyone while smiling. | Accompanying action: 微笑着 describes the manner of the main verb 握手 |
| 墙上挂着一幅老地图，看上去很有历史感。 | Qiáng shàng guà zhe yī fú lǎo dì tú, kàn shàng qù hěn yǒu lì shǐ gǎn. | An old map is hanging on the wall, which looks very historic. | Location+V着+thing: existential 着 sentence showing a persisting state at a location |
What you need first
Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.
What this opens up
These patterns list 着 among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.
The same pattern at other levels
- Continuous State 着 — HSK 2
着 is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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