You finished this day
Daily lessons · Day 20 of 90
Right now
Actions in progress
Yesterday was about what finished. Today is about what is happening as you speak, which Chinese marks with a word you already know doing a second job.
在 before the verb
The same 在 from day 7, now meaning in the middle of doing something.
Why it works
在 before a place marks where; 在 before a verb marks now. The two never clash in practice because a place is a noun and an action is a verb, and Chinese lets one small word do both jobs rather than inventing a second one. 正在 is a slightly more emphatic version, closer to right in the middle of.
Both at once
Place and progress can sit in the same sentence, in that order.
Why it works
呢 on the end of a statement gives it a lingering, ongoing feel, and it often turns up with 在. It is the same 呢 as day 8, where it bounced a question back. In both jobs it is doing something English does with tone of voice rather than with a word.
Asking someone to wait
Four lines you will use more than you expect.
Why it works
一下 after a verb is the everyday softener: 看一下, have a quick look, 问一下, just to ask. It takes the edge off an instruction without needing 请, which is why you hear it constantly. Pair it with 请 and you are being genuinely polite rather than merely civil.
我在路上 covers a multitude
On my way is used generously in China, and it can mean anything from actually in the taxi to about to put shoes on. Treat it as a friendly signal rather than a location report. If the timing genuinely matters, 你还有多久 asks how much longer someone needs, and gets a more specific answer.
Carried over from earlier days
Say each one out loud before you look at the English.
Today’s words 12
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 6 right to finish the day.
What does 在 do in front of a verb?
- it marks the action as happening now
- it marks the place
- it makes it a question
- it marks the past
Show the answer
it marks the action as happening now Before a noun it is where, before a verb it is now.
Type what are you doing in pinyin.
Show the answer
nǐ zài zuò shénme 在 plus the verb, and the question word stays in place.
In 我在家吃饭, what is 在家 doing?
- marking the place
- marking the action as in progress
- asking a question
- marking completion
Show the answer
marking the place 家 is a noun, so 在 is doing its place job.
What does 一下 do after a verb?
- it softens the action into something brief
- it makes it past
- it makes it plural
- it makes it a command
Show the answer
it softens the action into something brief 看一下, have a quick look.
Which means I'm nearly there?
- 我快到了 wǒ kuài dào le
- 我到了 wǒ dào le
- 我在路上 wǒ zài lùshang
- 我要走了 wǒ yào zǒu le
Show the answer
我快到了 wǒ kuài dào le 快 plus 了 means about to happen.
What does 呢 add to 我忙着呢?
- a lingering, ongoing feel
- a question
- politeness only
- the past
Show the answer
a lingering, ongoing feel It is the same 呢 that bounces a question back on day 8.
Someone messages 我在路上. How literally should you take it?
- loosely, it can mean anything up to about to leave
- exactly, they are in transit
- it means they have arrived
- it means they are not coming
Show the answer
loosely, it can mean anything up to about to leave 你还有多久 gets a more specific answer.
Type hang on a moment in pinyin.
Show the answer
děng yíxià 一 rises to yí before the fourth tone in 下.
Question 1 of 8
Writing practice optional
Every character from today, in the order it came up. Watch it, trace it, then write it from memory.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Character 1 of 31
This lesson is written by an English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language, and it is waiting on a check by a native speaker. If you spot something off, please tell us and we will fix it.