Aspect particle "zhe"

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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 Structure

Verb + 着

Examples

Some examples:

  • 我 来 读 信，你 听着。Wǒ lái dú xìn, nǐ tīng zhe.You need to listen while I'm reading this letter.
  • 这 家 饭店 还 开 着 。Zhè jiā fàndiàn hái kāi zhe.This restaurant is still open.
  • 我们 站 着 说话 吧。Wǒmen zhàn zhe shuōhuà ba.We talk while standing.
  • 不要 躺 着 看书 。Bùyào tǎng zhe kànshū.Don't read while lying down.

着 for a 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. For example, if you want to say "I'm reading," you have these two choices:

  • 我 在 看 书 。Wǒ zài kànshū.(This is the natural, easy way to say it.)
  • 我 正 在 看 着 书 呢 。 Wǒ zhèngzài kàn zhe shū ne.(This seems a bit much, and isn't very natural.)

The first one is fine, but the second one is definitely odd, and unnecessarily wordy. So there's no need to intentionally construct such long, unwieldy structures. For this kind of usage (which corresponds pretty closely to the "-ing" in English which we mentioned before), you're better off avoiding 着.

There are, however, other uses of 着 which are needed. When you're talking about "states" which don't involve any continuous action, or actually doing anything, you're going to want to use 着 instead of 在. Some examples:

着 Expressing an Ongoing State
Verb + 着 Explanation
开 着 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 着 关 (guān) alone can mean "to close" or "to turn off." Adding 着 allows one to express that something "is closed" or "is off."
带 着 带 (dài) alone means "to carry." Adding 着 allows one to express that one "is carrying" or "has" something (on one's person).
坐 着 坐 (zuò) alone means "to sit." Adding 着 allows one to express that someone "is sitting" ("在坐" is awkward, because it's not a real action).
躺 着 躺 (tǎng) alone means "to lie on one's back." Adding 着 allows one to express that someone "is lying down."

Now let's see these in action:

  • 房间 里 灯 关 着 。 Fángjiān lǐ dēng guān zhe.("Being off" is a state, so using 着 is natural.)
  • 房间 里 灯 在 关 。 Fángjiān lǐ dēng zài guān .("Being off" is not an action, so don't use 在.)
  • 我 带 着 护照。 Wǒ dài zhe hùzhào.("Having your passport (on you)" is a state, so using 着 is natural.)
  • 我 在 带 护照 。 Wǒ zài dài hùzhào.("Having your passport (on you)" is not an action, so don't use 在.)
  • 她 坐 着 吗 ？ Tā zuò zhe ma?("Be sitting" is a state, so using 着 is natural.)
  • 她 在 坐 吗 ？ Tā zài zuò ma?("Be sitting" is not an action (plus "在坐" is likely to be mistaken for the action "在做"), so don't use 在.)
  • 躺 着 最 舒服 。Tǎng zhe zuì shūfú. ("Lying here" is a state, so using 着 is natural.)
  • 在 躺 最 舒服 。 Zài tǎng zuì shūfú .("Lying here" is not strictly an action, so don't use 在.)

着 for doing an action in a particular state

If you do an action while in a particular state, you can make use of this pattern:

Verb1 + 着 + Verb2

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.

  • 站 着 吃饭 Zhàn zhe chīfàn "standing + eat = eating while standing"
  • 听 着 音乐健身 Tīng zhe yīnyuè jiànshēn "listening to music + work out = listening to music while working out
  • 哭 着 说话 Kū zhe shuōhuà "crying + speak = speaking while crying

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.

着 Used Idiomatically
Verb + 着 Explanation Example
听 着 "to listen to" (essentially the same as 听) 你 听 着。Nǐ tīng zhe.
拿 着 "to hold" (essentially the same as 拿) 这个 你 拿 着。Zhè ge nǐ ná zhe.
等 着 "to wait" (essentially the same as 等) 你们 继续 等 着 ！Nǐmen jìxù 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:

Verb + 着 + 玩儿

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 玩儿。Wǒ bùshì rènzhēn de, wǒ shì nào zhe wán er.I'm not very serious, I like to have a lot of fun.
  • 我 听不懂 英文 歌，只 是 听 着 玩儿。Wǒ tīng bù dǒng Yīngwén gē, zhǐshì tīng zhe wán er.I don't understand English songs. I just listen for fun.
  • 你不要生气了，我刚才是说着 玩儿的！Nǐ bùyào shēngqì le, wǒ gāngcái shì shuō zhe wán er de!Don't be mad.I was just joking.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

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