The particle 着 (zhe) is one way of indicating the continuous
aspect in Mandarin Chinese (another common way is using the adverb
在 in front of verbs). You may have heard that the Chinese
particle 着 added onto the end of verbs is similar to the use of
-ing in English. This isn't particularly helpful, however,
because the use of 着 in Chinese is not nearly so frequent, and can
also be quite idiomatic.
Basic Usage
Structure
Examples
- 我 读 ，你 听 着 。Wǒ dú, nǐ tīng
zhe.I'll read the letter, and
you will listen.
- 我们 做 ，你们 看 着 。Wǒmen zuò, nǐmen
kàn zhe.We will do it, and you
will watch.
- 你们 坐 着 ，哪儿 都 别 去 。Nǐmen zuò
zhe, nǎr dōu bié qù.You sit
here. Don't go anywhere else.
- 我 出去 一下 ，你 帮 我 看 着 行李 。Wǒ chūqù
yīxià, nǐ bāng wǒ kān zhe xíngli.I'll go out for a second, and you watch the luggage for
me.
Used for Continuous State
While it's true that the "full
progressive pattern" can make use of 着, this is not a pattern
you're going to want to use all the time. The most commonly used
verbs are the ones below:
- 开 (kāi) alone can mean "to open" or "to turn on." Adding 着
allows one to express that something "is open" or "is on."
- 关 (guān) alone can mean "to close" or "to turn off." Adding 着
allows one to express that something "is closed" or "is off."
- 穿 (chuān) alone means "to wear." Adding 着 allows one to express
that one "is wearing" or "has" something (on one's person).
- 戴 (dài) alone means "to wear." Adding 着 allows one to express
that one "is wearing" or "has" something (on one's person).
- 躺 (tǎng) alone means "to lie on one's back." Adding 着 allows
one to express that someone "is lying down."
Examples
- 家里 的 灯 开 着 。"Being on" is a state,
so using 着 is natural.Jiālǐ de dēng kāi
zhe.
- 家里 灯 在 开 。"Being on" is not an
action, so don't use 在.Jiālǐ de dēng
zài kāi.
- 公司 的 门 开 着 ，可是 没 人 在 。"Being on" is
a state, so using 着 is natural.)Gōngsī
de mén kāi zhe, kěshì méi rén zài.
- 公司 的 门 在 开 ，可是 没 人 在 。"Being open"
is not an action, so don't use 在.)Gōngsī de mén zài kāi, kěshì méi rén
zài.
- 他 戴 着 眼镜 。"Having his glasses (on
him)" is a state, so using 着 is natural.)Tā dài zhe yǎnjìng.
- 他 在 戴 眼镜 。"Having his glasses (on
him)" is not an action, so don't use 在.)Tā zài dài yǎnjìng.
- 她 穿 着 一 条 小 黑 裙 。"Be wearing" is a
state, so using 着 is natural.)Tā chuān
zhe yī tiáo xiǎo hēi qún.
- 她 在 穿 一 条 小 黑 裙 。"Be wearing" is
not an action, so don't use 在.)Tā
zài chuān yī tiáo xiǎo hēi qún.
- 躺 着 最 舒服 。"Lying here" is a state,
so using 着 is natural.)Tǎng
zhe zuì shūfu.
- 在 躺 最 舒服 。"Lying here" is not
strictly an action, so don't use 在.)Zài tǎng zuì shūfu .
Used for a Certain
Way of Doing Things
If you do an action while in a particular state, you can make
use of this pattern:
Structure
Note that the first verb (followed by 着)
describes the state; the second verb is the action
verb. In this case, the "-ing" translation can be useful.
Examples
- 她 喜欢 站 着 吃饭 。 "standing + eat =
eating while standing"Tā xǐhuan zhàn
zhe chīfàn.
- 我 不 喜欢 听 着 音乐 做 作业 。 "listening to
music + do homework = listening to music while doing
homeworkWǒ bù xǐhuan tīng zhe
yīnyuè zuò zuòyè.
- 他 笑 着 说 “对不起” 。 "smiling + say =
saying "I'm sorry" while smilingTā xiào
zhe shuō "duìbuqǐ".
Note: If you want to make a sentence where both
verbs are action verbs (neither is truly a state), then you don't
want this pattern, you want 一边⋯⋯，一边⋯⋯.
着 Used Idiomatically
Certain verbs tend to take 着 more frequently than others, and
exactly what the 着 is doing might not be apparent at all.
It's best to think of these usages as colloquialisms. You can even
think of them as set phrases.
Examples
- 你 听 着 ! "to listen and keep
listening"Nǐ tīng
zhe!
- 这个 你 拿 着 ! "to hold and keep
holding"Zhège nǐ ná
zhe!
- 你们 等 着 ! "to wait and keeping
waiting"Nǐmen děng
zhe!
There's also one colloquial usage of 着 that's been chosen by at
least one textbook for special treatment, so we'll cover it here as
well:
This pattern may look like that "doing an action in a particular
state" pattern already covered above, but in practice it doesn't
really work that way. It just means "[Verb] for fun" or "[Verb] as
a joke."
Examples of this usage:
- 我 不 是 认真 的 ，我 是 闹 着 玩 的 。Wǒ bùshì
rènzhēn de, wǒ shì nào zhe wá de.I'm not very serious, I like to have a lot of
fun.
- 我 听不懂 英文 歌 ，只 是 听 着 玩 的 。Wǒ tīng
bù dǒng Yīngwén gē, zhǐshì tīng zhe wán
de.I don't understand English songs. I
just listen for fun.
- 你 不要 生气 ，我 是 说 着 玩 的 ！Nǐ bùyào
shēngqì, wǒ gāngcái shì shuō zhe wán
de!Don't be mad.I was just
joking.
See also
Sources and further
reading
Books
Websites