---
title: "(正)在 + verb + 呢 in Chinese Grammar: In the middle of … right now, With Examples"
description: "(正)在 + verb + 呢: in the middle of … right now. (正)在 + verb + 呢: the action is going on at this moment. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zheng-ne"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# (正)在 + verb + 呢

In the middle of … right now

(正)在 + verb + 呢: the action is going on at this moment.

## In stories

妈妈笑了：“它不是在睡觉，它**在学习呢**！”

[我的书在哪儿？ · Where is my book?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/where-is-my-book-location-words-in-chinese#library-word-235-239) HSK 1

“我们现在就**在打电话呢**，奶奶。”

[奶奶的新手机 · Grandma’s new phone](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/grandmas-new-phone-easy-chinese-story#library-word-118-123) HSK 2

莉莉看着他：“我**在问你呢**！”

[你想看电影吗？ · Do you want to see a film?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-invite-someone-to-a-movie-in-chinese#library-word-238-242) HSK 2

他想：没关系，兔子们还**在睡觉呢**。

[守株待兔 · Waiting for a rabbit by the tree stump](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/shou-zhu-dai-tu-waiting-for-a-rabbit-by-the-tree-stump#library-word-175-179) HSK 5

[Read 我的书在哪儿？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/where-is-my-book-location-words-in-chinese#library-word-235-239)

## More patterns

- [正在 in the middle of (doing); right now](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zhengzai)
- [在 + … + 下 under …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zai-xia-place)
- [在于 lies in; is a matter of; depends on](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiyu)
- [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)
- [把 + object + verb do something to … (and it ends up changed)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/ba)

## What does (正)在 + verb + 呢 mean in Chinese?

In the middle of … right now. (正)在 + verb + 呢: the action is going on at this moment.

## How common is (正)在 + verb + 呢?

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.