在
to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
Closest English meanings
at·in·exist
The Calligrapher — Zhāng Zhī 张芝
Han 'Sage of Cursive', father of the connected-cursive style.
Han calligrapher (?–192), master of cursive script/clerical cursive — Han dynasty 'Cursive Sage' who turned rapid writing into an art form centuries before cursive peaked. Han dynasty
Cultural Story
The Odes ask where the people's trust 在 when the ruler strays. Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion speaks of friends 在 present, wine and verse flowing. The character sets a person against the earth — 存在 as location before it became metaphysics, a thing simply being somewhere.
Common words & phrases
- 现在 now · present
- 存在 exist · existence
- 正在 in progress · just
- 在于 lie in · consist in
- 在乎 care about
- 在意 mind · care
Read the story behind the character
The 现在 time shows on the lock screen as the alarm sounds. A 存在 proof keeps the server process alive through the night. The bus is 正在 arriving, says the app, two minutes out. The dispute 在于 who actually paid the bill. Teenagers 在乎 what the group thinks of the photo. A parent texts that she 在意 he ate lunch before the exam.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhāng Zhī 张芝, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.