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plZhe 着/著 is an aspectual particle, which follows the verb in a sentence. It is used to express the existence in a place or to describe a persistent state resulting from the action of the verb, an action in progress or an accompanying action. When describing an accompanying action, zhe 着/著 follows the first verb in the sentence.
Structure
Basic form
When expressing existence in a place or describing a persistent state or an action in progress, zhe 着 follows the main verb in a sentence. When describing an accompanying action, zhe 着/著 follows the first verb in the sentence, not the main one.
In sentences with separable verbs, zhe 着/著 is placed directly after the verb and before the object. Separable verbs are a specific group of disyllabic verbs where the two elements can be split because the first element is typically a verb indicating an action, while the second one is often a noun representing the object of that action. Examples of such verbs include chī fàn 吃饭/吃飯 ‘to eat’, jiàn miàn 见面/見面 ‘to meet’ or shuì jiào 睡觉/睡覺 ‘to sleep’.
Expression of existence in a place
Description of an action in progress
Description of a persistent state resulting from the action of the verb
Description of an accompanying action
Negation
Sentences with zhe 着/著 are negated using méi 没/沒. For added emphasis, méi yǒu 没有/沒有 can also be used in place of méi 没/沒.
Note that the negative form is usually used to contradict the listener’s statement in dialogues.
Question
There are three common ways to form a question with zhe 着/著:
- adding méi yǒu 没有/沒有 at the end of the sentence;
- adding the question particle ma 吗/嗎 at the end of the sentence;
- adding shì bu shì 是不是 in front of the verb followed by zhe 着/著.
In all these three types of interrogative sentences, the aspectual particle zhe 着/著 is placed after the main verb.
With adverbs
When zhe 着/著 describes an action in progress, the verbs are often preceded by the adverbs zài 在, zhèng 正 and zhèngzài 正在, which convey the meaning of ‘being in the process of’. The adverbs hái 还/還 ‘still’ and yìzhí 一直 ‘continuously, always’ can also be used to emphasize the duration of an ongoing action or a persistent state. In such cases, the final particle ne 呢 may occur at the end of the sentence.
If the verb is preceded by an adverb and the aspectual particle zhe 着/著 and the final particle ne 呢 are both used in the same sentence, the speaker is giving a strong emphasis on the action in progress or the persistent state resulting from the action of the verb.
Functions
1. Zhe 着/著 expressing existence in a place
Zhe 着/著 can be used in sentences indicating the existence or presence of somebody or something, similar to the English ‘there be…’, and it emphasizes the ongoing duration of the situation. These sentences starts with a place, and there is only a limited number of verbs which can be used in such sentences, such as zhàn 站 ‘to stand up’, zuò 坐 ‘to sit’, shuì 睡 ‘to sleep’, fàng 放 ‘to place’, xiě 写/寫 ‘to write’ and ná 拿 ‘to hold’. These verbs express a transition from an action (e.g. writing a poetry) to a state (e.g. the poetry remains written there).
2. Zhe 着/著 describing an action in progress
Zhe 着/著 can be used to describe an ongoing action referring to the past, present or future. It always co-occurs with the adverbs zài 在, zhèng 正 or zhèngzài 正在 ‘in the process of’.
These adverbs slightly differ in their meaning:
- zài 在 emphasizes that an action or state continues,
- zhèng 正 emphasizes the moment in which the action in progress takes place,
- zhèngzài 正在 emphasizes both the time and status of an ongoing action or state.
In such cases, the particle ne 呢 may occur at the end of the sentence to emphasize the progress of the action.
Note that if zhe 着/著 describes an action in progress, it should be paired with one of these adverbs. Otherwise, the sentence could be perceived as incomplete.
Also check The progressive aspect marker 在
3. Zhe 着/著 describing a persistent state resulting from the action of the verb
Zhe 着/著 is often used to describe a persistent state resulting from the action of the verb. Sometimes, the particle ne 呢 may occur at the end of the sentence to explicitly remind the listener to foreground a certain fact.
Note that zhe 着/著 cannot be used with verbs not indicating duration. It is usually not used with verbs describing a state like shì 是 ‘to be’. However, there are a few exceptions. If some verbs describing a state are preceded by the adverbs zài 在, zhèng 正, zhèngzài 正在 ‘in the process of’ or yìzhí 一直 ‘continuously, always’, they can be paired with zhe 着/著. Examples of such verbs include bìng 病 ‘to be sick’, è 饿/餓 ‘to be hungry’, kùn 困 ‘to be tired’, zuì 醉 ‘to be drunk’, ài 爱/愛 ‘to love’ and hèn 恨 ‘to hate’.
4. Zhe 着/著 describing an accompanying action
Zhe 着/著 can be used to describe an action that takes place at the same time as another action. Usually, the first action followed by zhe 着/著 describes the manner or state of the second one, which is actually the main action of the sentence.
Sometimes, while the first action followed by zhe 着/著 indicates the manner or state of the second one, the second action expresses the reason or purpose of the first one.