How to say “just” in Chinese
just, right now
“Just” in Chinese is 正, zhèng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
正 is read zhèng. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “正”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 正. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我正在吃饭呢。wǒzhèngzàichīfànneI’m eating right now.
- 他正在打电话tāzhèngzàidǎdiànhuàHe’s on the phone right now.
- 我正在学习汉语wǒzhèngzàixuéxíHànyǔI’m studying Chinese right now.
- 经理正在开会jīnglǐzhèngzàikāihuìThe manager is in a meeting right now.
- 你来得正好，我们正要出发。nǐláidezhènghǎo,wǒmenzhèngyàochūfāYou came just in time — we're about to leave.
- 我正好也要去机场wǒzhènghǎoyěyàoqùjīchǎngAs it happens, I need to go to the airport too.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “The door is open”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “just” in Chinese?
“Just” in Chinese is 正, pinyin zhèng.
What does 正 mean?
正 (zhèng) means “just, right now”.
How do you write 正?
正 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 正?
正 is read zhèng. Tones: zhèng — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“just” in the lesson “The door is open”
This word is from the topic “There and back” of HSK 2. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free