How to say “right now” in Chinese
right now (in progress)
“Right now” in Chinese is 正在, zhèng zài: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
正在 is read zhèng zài: 2 syllables. 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 “正在”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 正在. 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.
- 这家公司正在招聘经理。zhèjiāgōngsīzhèngzàizhāopìnjīnglǐThis company is looking for a manager.
- 警察正在调查这件事jǐngcházhèngzàidiàocházhèjiànshìThe police are investigating the matter right now.
More words from the lesson “What are you doing right now?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “right now” in Chinese?
“Right now” in Chinese is 正在, pinyin zhèngzài.
What does 正在 mean?
正在 (zhèngzài) means “right now (in progress)”.
How do you write 正在?
正在 is 2 characters: 正 (zhèng) — just; correct; 在 (zài) — be at, be in. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 正在?
正在 is read zhèngzài. Tones: zhèng — fourth tone, zài — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“right now” in the lesson “What are you doing right now?”
This word is from the topic “Study, work and free time” of HSK 1. 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.
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