着 (zhe): states that hold

The particle for ongoing states and background actions — why the door 开着 while you 在开门.

A state, holding

着 after a verb freezes its result into a continuing state. 开 is the act of opening; 门开着 is the door standing open. Where English uses "is …-ing" for both actions and states, Chinese splits them: 在 + verb for an action underway, verb + 着 for a state that holds.

门开着。

mén kāi zhe.

The door is open.

她穿着一件红衣服。

tā chuān zhe yí jiàn hóng yīfu.

She's wearing a red piece of clothing.

墙上挂着一张地图。

qiáng shàng guà zhe yì zhāng dìtú.

A map hangs on the wall.

Backgrounding one action behind another

Verb1 + 着 + Verb2 makes the first action the manner or backdrop of the second — doing B while A holds.

他笑着说。

tā xiào zhe shuō.

He said it smiling.

我们坐着聊天吧。

wǒmen zuò zhe liáotiān ba.

Let's chat sitting down.

Look up the word: 着 · All grammar guides

Patterns stick when you meet them in sentences you can read. The app drills each one at i+1, scheduled by FSRS.

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