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HSK 2

着

aspect particle (continuous state)

particleneutral
着
zheneutral tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
zhe
Part of speech
particle
Level
HSK 2
Strokes
11
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 着

着 is written with 11 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 着 mean?

着 (zhe) is the durative aspect particle that attaches to a verb to mark a continuous, ongoing state — the result of an action that is still in effect.

Where English uses '-ing' for actions in progress, Chinese makes a key distinction: 正在 marks an action being PERFORMED (我正在吃饭 'I'm eating'), while 着 marks an action's continuing STATE (门开着 'the door is open / standing open'). Common patterns: V + 着 ('holding,' 'wearing,' 'lying' — states caused by an earlier action); V₁ 着 V₂ ('do V₂ while V₁-ing,' as in 站着说话 'speak while standing'); V + 着 in commands softens them (听着！ 'Listen!'

). The character 着 has multiple readings — zhāo, zháo, zhuó — but as the aspect particle it is ALWAYS neutral-tone zhe.

Note: Grammatical particle used freely in speech and writing. Always neutral tone (zhe), never zháo or zhāo when used as the aspect marker.

Memory hook: Think of 着 as a freeze-frame button: it pauses the verb and holds the resulting state in place.

Example sentences

他手里拿着一本书。

Tā shǒu lǐ názhe yì běn shū.

He's holding a book in his hand.

neutral

门开着，请进。

Mén kāizhe, qǐng jìn.

The door is open, please come in.

spoken

我喜欢站着吃饭。

Wǒ xǐhuan zhànzhe chīfàn.

I like to eat standing up.

spoken

她穿着一件红色的大衣。

Tā chuānzhe yí jiàn hóngsè de dàyī.

She is wearing a red coat.

neutral

听着！我有事告诉你。

Tīngzhe! Wǒ yǒu shì gàosu nǐ.

Listen up! I have something to tell you.

spoken

Common phrases with 着

拿着názheholding (in hand)
穿着chuānzhewearing
坐着zuòzheseated; sitting
开着kāizhe(door/light) open / on
听着tīngzhelisten up; (be) listening

Synonyms

正在zhèngzài

正在 marks an action in progress ('right now doing'); 着 marks a continuing state ('in a state of'). 他正在穿衣服 = 'he's putting on clothes (right now)'; 他穿着红衣服 = 'he is wearing red clothes (state).' English 'is doing' covers both, Chinese splits them.

在zài

When used as an aspect marker (我在吃饭), 在 is essentially the short form of 正在 — it marks the ongoing action. 着 marks the result/state, not the action itself.

Don't confuse 着 with

着急zháojí

In 着急 ('to be anxious/in a hurry'), 着 is read zháo, not zhe. Different word entirely — same character, different reading and meaning.

了le

了 marks completion or change of state ('it happened / it's done'). 着 marks an ongoing state. 门开了 = 'the door opened (completion)'; 门开着 = 'the door is (standing) open.'

正在zhèngzài

正在 + verb = action in progress. Verb + 着 = the resulting state. They often translate the same in English but answer different questions: 'What is he doing?' vs 'What state is he in?'

FAQ

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