xiūxi. He’s taking a rest in the room. 在 ... 上 zài ... shang on ■ 在桌子上有两本 书。Zài zhuōzi
shang yǒu liǎng běn shū. There are two books on the desk. 在 ... 下 zài ... xia under ... ■ 在床下有
一双鞋。 Zài chuáng xia yǒu yì shuāng xié. There’s a pair of shoes under the bed. 在 ... 之间 zài
... zhī jiān between ■ 我要在这两 棵树之间种一些花。Wǒ yào zài zhè liǎng kē shù zhī jiān zhòng
yìxiē huā. I’m going to plant some flowers between the two trees.
zài 在² ADV (used to indicate an action in progress) ■ “你在做什么？”“我在找东西。”“Nǐ zài zuò
shénme?” “Wǒ zài zhǎo dōngxi.” “What are you doing?” “I’m looking for something.”
zàihu 在乎 V care, care about ■ 她不在乎别人的 闲话。Tā búzàihu biéren de xiánhuà. She doesn’t
care about people’s gossip.
NOTE: 在乎 zàihu is normally used in a negative sentence, or a question. The same is true with 在意 zàiyì.
zàiyì 在意 V take notice of, mind, care ■ 我抽 烟，你在意吗？Wǒ chōuyān, nǐ zàiyì ma? Do you mind
if I smoke?
NOTE: See note on 在乎 zàihu.
zàiyú 在于 V lie in, rest with
zán 咱 PRON same as 咱们 zánmen
zánmen 咱们 [suffix: 咱 we, us + 们 suffix denoting a plural number] PRON we, us (including the person
or persons spoken to) ■ 你在学中 文，我也在学中文，咱们都在学中文。Nǐ zài xué Zhōngwén,
wǒ yě zài xué Zhōngwén, zánmen dōu zài xué Zhōngwén. You’re learning Chinese; I’m learning
Chinese. We’re both learning Chinese. ■ 咱们去吃饭吧！ Zánmen qù chīfàn ba! Let’s go and have
our meal.
NOTE: 咱们 zánmen is only used in colloquial Chinese, and has a northern dialect flavor. You can always
just use 我们 wǒmen, even to include the person(s) spoken to. The following examples are perfectly
acceptable: ■ 你在学中文，我也在学中 文，我们都在学中文。Nǐ zài xué Zhōngwén, wǒ yě zài xué Zhōngwén, wǒmen dōu
zài xué Zhōngwén. You’re learning Chinese. I’m learning Chinese. We’re both learning Chinese. ■ 我们去
吃饭 吧！Wǒmen qù chīfàn ba! Let’s go and have a meal.
zǎn 攒 TRAD 攢 V save (money)
zàn 暂 TRAD 暫 ADJ temporary
zànqiě 暂且 ADV for the time being, for the moment
zànshí 暂时 [comp: 暂 temporary + 时 time] ADJ temporary, for the time being ■ 你暂时在这里住 一
下，大房间一空出来就可以搬进去。Nǐ zànshí zài zhèli zhù yíxià, dà fángjiān yí kòng chūlai jiù
kěyǐ bān jìnqu. Please stay here for the time being. You can move to the bigger room as soon as it
is vacated.
zàn 赞 TRAD 贊 V support
zànchéng 赞成 V approve of, support, be in favor of ■ 我不赞成他代表我们公司去参加会议。Wǒ bú
zànchéng tā dàibiǎo wǒmen gōngsī qù cānjiā huìyì. I don’t approve his being our company
representative at the conference. ■ 赞成的，请 举手！Zànchéng de, qǐng jǔshǒu! Those in favor,
please raise your hands.
zànměi 赞美 [comp: 赞 praise + 美 beautify] V eulogize, praise highly
zàntàn 赞叹 [comp: 赞 praise + 叹 sigh] V gasp in admiration
zàntóng 赞同 V heartily approve of, agree with
zànyáng 赞扬 V speak highly of, praise, applaud
zànzhù 赞助 [comp: 赞 praise + 助 help] V support, sponsor 赞助人 zànzhù rén sponsor
zāng 脏 TRAD 髒 ADJ dirty (ANTONYM 干净 gānjìng) ■ 这些衣服脏了，要洗一下。Zhèxiē yīfu zāng le,
yào xǐ yíxià. These clothes are dirty and need washing.
zàng 脏 TRAD 臟 N internal organs of the body (See xīnzàng 心脏.)