---
title: "在于 (zàiyú) in Chinese Grammar: Lies in, With Examples"
description: "在于 (zàiyú): lies in; is a matter of; depends on. X 在于 Y: the key to X is Y (不在于…而在于… “not A but B”). 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiyu"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 在于 zàiyú

Lies in; is a matter of; depends on

X 在于 Y: the key to X is Y (不在于…而在于… “not A but B”).

## In stories

关键**在于**它的茶是从谁手里买来的。

[世界上的“茶”为什么有两种叫法？ · Cha or tea? Why the world has two words for tea](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/cha-or-tea-why-the-world-has-two-words-for-tea#library-word-446-448) HSK 6

问题**在于**同音字太多。

[汉字没有字母，中国人怎么打字？ · How do Chinese people type without an alphabet?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-do-chinese-people-type-without-an-alphabet#library-word-252-254) HSK 6

说到底，坐月子的意义并不**在于**某一条规矩，而在于让刚成为母亲的人好好休息、被好好照顾。

[什么是“坐月子”？ · What is zuo yuezi? Chinese postpartum confinement explained](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/what-is-zuo-yuezi-chinese-postpartum-confinement-explained#library-word-738-740) HSK 6

区别**在于**，这种用法在英语里只是例外，在中文里却是规律：凡是能数的东西，前面几乎都得配一个量词。

[中文为什么要用量词？ · Why does Chinese have measure words?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/why-does-chinese-have-measure-words#library-word-221-223) HSK 6

[Read 世界上的“茶”为什么有两种叫法？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/cha-or-tea-why-the-world-has-two-words-for-tea#library-word-446-448)

## More patterns

- [正在 in the middle of (doing); right now](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zhengzai)
- [于是 so; and so; thereupon](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yushi)
- [在 + … + 下 under …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zai-xia-place)
- [(正)在 + verb + 呢 in the middle of … right now](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zheng-ne)
- [在…看来 in …’s view](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zai-kanlai)
- [在…上 (abstract: as regards) as regards …; in …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zai-shang)

## What does 在于 (zàiyú) mean in Chinese?

Lies in; is a matter of; depends on. X 在于 Y: the key to X is Y (不在于…而在于… “not A but B”).

## How common is 在于?

It comes up in 4 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.