Expressing "within" a period of time using "zai... nei"

"在 (a period of time) 内" may sound a bit redundant, since 在 means "in" and 内 means "within" or "inside," but it is a commonly used "sandwich pattern" which means "within (a period of time)."

Structure

在 + (a period of time) + 内

The period of time in this structure can be a clear-cut indicator of time (days, months, years) or it can be a more vague indicator of time (short amount of time, a lifetime).

Examples

• 我和他分手了, 与他有关的事情我都不想知道. Wǒ hé tā fēnshǒu le, yǔ tā yǒuguān de shìqíng wǒ dū bùxiǎng zhīdào.We broke up, I don't want to know anything related to him.
• 他对中国很感兴趣, 与中国有关的故事他都很感兴趣. Tā duì Zhōngguó hěn gǎn xìngqù, yǔ Zhōngguó yǒuguān de gùshì tā dōu hěn gǎn xìngqù. He is very interested in China, he is interested in anything related to Chinese history.
• 与这个项目有关的资料都需要保密. Yǔ zhège xiàngmù yǒuguān de zīliào dōu xūyào bǎomì.Any information related to this project needs to be kept confidential.

See Also

• Expressing existence in a place with "zai"
• Expressing location with "zai... shang / xia / li"
• Indicating location with "zai" before verbs

Sources and further reading

Books

• Anything Goes (无所不谈) (pp. 117) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

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