在 from HSK Level 1 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 在 (zài) is composed of two parts: the radical 宀 (miàn), which represents a roof or shelter, and the phonetic component 才 (cái), which represents a person. The original meaning of 在 was "to be under a roof", which later extended to mean "to be present" or "to exist".The character 在 has a long history, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). It was originally written as 甾, which was a pictograph of a person standing under a roof. Over time, the character simplified to its current form.在 is a common character in Chinese, and it is used in a variety of words and phrases. Some examples include:- 存在 (cúnzài): to exist- 在家 (zàijiā): at home- 在校 (zàixiào): at school- 在职 (zàizhí): employed- 在乎 (zàihū): to care about在 is also used as a preposition, meaning "in" or "at". For example:- 我在北京 (wǒ zài Běijīng): I am in Beijing- 他在公司 (tā zài gōngsī): He is at the company在 is a versatile character that can be used in a variety of ways. It is an important character to learn for HSK learners, as it is used frequently in everyday Chinese.