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

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

# 正在 zhèngzài

In the middle of (doing); right now

正在 + verb: the action is going on at this moment.

## In stories

家里的小狗**正在**那儿睡觉。

[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-179-181) HSK 1

小床上有一只小小的白猫，**正在**用妞妞的红杯子喝牛奶。

[爷爷的房间 · Inside Grandpa’s room](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/inside-grandpas-room#library-word-25-27) HSK 2

她说：“我**正在**学钢琴。

[楼上的声音 · The noisy neighbour](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-noisy-neighbour-easy-chinese-story#library-word-108-110) HSK 2

咪咪是家里的大黑猫，**正在**床上睡觉。

[谁吃了爸爸的饺子？ · Who ate Dad’s dumplings?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/who-ate-dads-dumplings#library-word-180-182) HSK 2

[Read 我的书在哪儿？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/where-is-my-book-location-words-in-chinese#library-word-179-181)

## More patterns

- [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)
- [(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)
- [把 + object + verb do something to … (and it ends up changed)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/ba)

## What does 正在 (zhèngzài) mean in Chinese?

In the middle of (doing); right now. 正在 + verb: the action is going on at this moment.

## How common is 正在?

It comes up in 36 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.