Chinese word for where

Learn how to ask «Where?»

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

By clicking Join Now, you agree to our
Terms of Use,
Privacy Policy,
and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

By clicking Join Now, you agree to our
Terms of Use,
Privacy Policy,
and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.

Lesson Transcript

Hēi, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ jiào Mǎ Yànrú. Hi everybody! I’m Mǎ Yànrú.

Welcome to ChineseClass101.com’s “Sān fēnzhōng Hànyǔ”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Chinese.

In the last lesson, we learned how to ask «What» questions in Chinese.

This time, we are going to ask questions using the interrogative word «Where?»

Imagine you want to ask where your friend is now. You will ask him Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?. This is the exact translation of «Where are you?»

[slowly] Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?

So let’s break down this answer.

First we had-

nǐ is «you». And then is the word zài, a word we learned in our previous lessons, which means some action is in progress. But here it is a preposition used to say where somebody or something is.

Finally is nǎlǐ, which is the basic translation of «Where» in Chinese.

So, altogether it is Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?, «Where are you?»

So in Chinese, «Where» is mainly translated as nǎlǐ.

So for example, if you want to ask «Where do you live?» You will say Nǐ zhù zài nǎlǐ?

Unlike English, the structure of this sentence in Chinese is that the subject always comes 1st position, then the verb, and then the interrogative word.

But be careful, because several variations of nǎlǐ are possible in Chinese. For example, nǎr, nǎ, and so on. Nǎr and nǎ are actually the colloquial form of nǎlǐ. So because they have the same meaning, nǎlǐ can be replaced by nǎr or nǎ almost all the time in daily conversations. And it’s good to use those two words instead, especially nǎr. They will make you sound very natural!

And if you want to ask «Where do you come from?» you can also say Nǐ cóng shénme dìfāng lái? As you see, we have replaced nǎlǐ with shénme dìfāng which literally means “what place.” It seems a little long, but it is very simple to understand, isn’t it? All you need to remember is that “where” equals ‘what place’ and then the translation for what place.

Let’s say it again.

Nǐ cóng shénme dìfāng lái?

[slowly] Nǐ cóng shénme dìfāng lái?

And if you want to ask somebody what their nationality is or where their hometown is, you can say Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?

Unlike “what”, the usage of the form nǎlǐ +noun is very limited. So here you can remember nǎlǐ rén as one word. Once again, “where do you come from?” is Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?

Now it’s time for Yanru’s tips.

As we said, nǎlǐ can be replaced by nǎr or nǎ almost all the time in daily conversations. But in the sentence Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén? you can say Nǐ shì nǎr rén? but not Nǐ shì nǎ rén? The listener might understand what you are trying to say, but it’s not good Chinese.

Before ending this lesson, Let’s look back at all the ways to translate «Where» in Chinese-

— nǎlǐ is the basic «Where», as in «Where do you live?» Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?

— nǎr or nǎ is the colloquial form of nǎlǐ which can replace nǎlǐ almost all the time in daily conversations.

-shénme dìfāng equals “what place.” Nǐ cóng shénme dìfāng lái?

-And nǎlǐ rén is insisting on the origin or the starting point, as in «Where do you come from?» Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?

In this lesson, we learned how to correctly use the interrogative Chinese word for «Where», nǎlǐ, and also its different variations.

In the next lesson we’ll learn more about asking questions, this time using «When» in Chinese.

I’ll be waiting for you in the next“Sān fēnzhōng Hànyǔ” lesson.

zàijiàn !

How to Pronounce and Use ‘Where’ in Chinese

Updated on February 20, 2019

The Mandarin question word for «where” is 在哪裡, written in the traditional form, or 在哪里, written in simplified form. The pinyin is «zài nǎ li.» This term is particularly useful to know if you are traveling in China and want to learn or ask about new locations to explore. 

Characters

The term for «where» is made up of three characters: 在 (zài) which means «located at,» and the two characters 哪裡 / 哪里 (nǎ li) which put together means «where». Combined, 在哪裡 / 在哪里 (zài nǎ li) literally means, “Where is it located?”

The term 哪裡 / 哪里 (nǎ li) is sometimes used by itself as a single-word question.

Pronunciation

With regards to tone marks, 在 (zài) is in the 4th tone and 哪 (nǎ) is in the 3rd tone. 裡 / 里 is usually pronounced in the 3rd tone (lǐ) but when used as a question word for «where» it takes on an unaccented neutral tone (li). Thus, in terms of tones, 在哪裡 / 在哪里 can also be referred to as zai na li.

Examples

Wǒ de shū zài nǎ li?
我的書在哪裡? (traditional form)
我的书在哪里? (simplified form)
Where is my book?

Wǒ men zài nǎ li jiàn?
我們在哪裡見?
我们在哪里见?
Where are we going to meet?

Yúnnán shěng zài nǎ li?
雲南省哪裡？
云南省在哪里?
Where is Yunnan province?

Shànghǎi zài nǎ li?
上海在哪裡?
上海在哪里？
Where is Shanghai?

Nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ lǚxíng?
你要去哪裡旅行？
你要去哪里旅行？
Where do you want to travel?

In this article, we’re going to look at two related topics: location and directions in Chinese. First, I’m going to introduce some basic location words and then some sentence patterns that you can use to describe where objects are, if an object exists and locations as description. The second part of the article will focus more on phrases and vocabulary that will be useful when asking for and giving directions in Chinese.

Location in Chinese

方位词 (fāng wèi cí) or location nouns are used to express both direction and location. These can be divided into two sections, 单纯方位词 (dān chún fāng wèi cí) simple localizers and 合成方位词 (hé chéng fāng wèi cí) compound localizers.

The following characters are 单纯方位词 (dān chún fāng wèi cí) Simple localizers: 上 (shàng), 下 (xià), 前 (qián), 后 (hòu), 左 (zuǒ), 右 (yòu), 里 (lǐ), 外 (wài), 东 (dōng), 南 (nán), 西 (xī), 北 (běi).

If a character such as 之 (zhī) and  以 (yǐ) is added before the simple localizer or 面 (miàn), 边 (bian), 头 (tou), 方 (fāng) and 部 (bù) after the simple localizer and this will create a compound localizer, such as the following: or example:  以上 (yǐ shàng), 之前 (zhī qián), 里面 (lǐ miàn), 外边 (wài bian), 后头 (hòu tou), 前方 (qián fāng), 西部 (xī bù), 左右 (zuǒ yòu) and 内外 (nèi wài).

Generally, the 单纯方位词 (dān chún fāng wèi cí) simple localizer can not be used alone, except when part of a commonly used phrase such as 上有老下有小 (shàng yǒu lǎo  xià yǒu xiǎo), meaning ‘to support both your elderly parents and your children’ and 前怕狼 后怕虎 (qián pà láng hòu pà hǔ), which means ‘to be overcautious’.

合成方位词 (hé chéng fāng wèi cí) compound localizers can be used alone. For example:

外面很热。(wài mian hěn rè) It is hot outside.

西边的学校。(xī biān de xué xiào) The school in the west.

Localizers are always used after other words to make a 方位词组 (fāng wèi cí zǔ) Localizer phrase. These are used to express a location or time.

For example:

书在桌子上。(shū zài zhuō zi shàng) The book is on top of the table.

两年以前我们就认识了。(liǎng nián yǐ qián wǒ men jiù rèn shi le) We knew each other two years ago.

Although the simplest use of a localizer is to express the location, sometimes 上 (shàng) , 中 (zhōng) and 下 (xià) do not express a physical location:

For example:

在学习上，他一直很努力。(zài xué xí shàng, tā yī zhí hěn nǔ lì) He always works hard when he studies.

在她的帮助下，我顺利完成了学业。(zài tā de bāng zhù xià, wǒ shùn lì wán chéng le xué yè) With her help, I completed my studies successfully.

他们招飞行员，要求身高在一米七以上。(tā men zhāo fēi xíng yuán, yāo qiú shēn gāo zài yī mǐ qī yǐ shàng.) They recruited pilots, whose height can be no less than 1.70m.

location			面 miàn	face/side	边 biān	side
上	shàng	on	上面 shàng mian	on top of	上边 shàng bian	on top/above
下	xià	under	下面 xià mian	below/ under	下边 xià bian	below/ under
里	lǐ	in	里面 lǐ miàn	inside	里边 lǐ bian	inside
外	wài	out	外面 wài mian	outside	外边 wài bian	outside/outer surface
前	qián	front	前面 qián miàn	ahead/ infront	前边 qián bian	front/the front side
后	hòu	back	后面 hòu mian	back/ behind	后边 hòu bian	back/ behind
左	zuǒ	left	左面 zuǒ miàn	left side	左边 zuǒ bian	the left side of
右	yòu	right	右面 yòu miàn	right side	右边 yòu bian	the right side of
对	duì	toward	对面 duì miàn	opposite
旁	páng	next to			旁边 páng biān	beside
中	zhōng	middle					中间 zhōng jiān	between
南	nán	south	南面 nán miàn	south side	南边 nán bian	south side
北	běi	north	北面 běi miàn	north side	北边 běi biān	north side
东	dōng	east	东面 dōng miàn	east side	东边 dōng bian	east side
西	xī	west	西面 xī miàn	west side	西边 xī biān	west side

在 zài

The character 在 (zài) can be used in several different ways, but in this instance it is being used as ‘is located at/in’.

For example

在英国。(zài yīng guó) [is located] In the United Kingdom…

Describing the Location of an Object

If you wish to say that an object is in a particular place, use the following sentence pattern:

Object + 在 (zài) + place + (的 (de)) + location

裙子在衣柜(的)里面。(qún zi zài yī guì (de) lǐ miàn) The dress is in the wardrobe.

The 的 (de) particle is used here to mean ‘of the’, so the sentence basically reads

‘the dress is located in the wardrobe’s inside’. You can read about the 的 (de) particle in more detail in the article, How to use the ‘de’ particles 的, 得 and 地 in Chinese.

Indicating an object exists or not

In Chinese, the character 有 (yǒu) is more often used to say ‘have’ or combined with 没 (méi) to produce 没有 (méi yǒu), meaning ‘not to have’. To indicate that something exists in a place, we use the 有 (yǒu) character. Essentially we are saying that a place ‘has’ an object.

location + 有 (yǒu) + object

桌子上有杯子。(zhuō zi shàng yǒu bēi zi) There is a cup on the table.

location + 没有 (méi yǒu) + object

房子里没有人。(fáng zi lǐ méi yǒu rén) There is no one inside the house.

Describing with Location

When using a location to describe something, you need to use the following pattern:

Location + 的 (de) + noun

左边的人。(zuǒ bian de rén) The person who is on the left.

后面的车。(hòu mian de chē) The car that is behind.

Distances – Near and Far

The words to use for ‘near’ or ‘far’ are as follows:

远 (yuǎn) – far

近 (jìn) – near

You can also add an adverb, such as 很 (hěn), to say ‘very’ far 很远 (hěn yuǎn).

When talking about distances, we frequently use the character 离 (lí), which means ‘away from’. The sentence will be something like, ‘this place + away from + this place +[is] far/near’.

Noun phrase + 离 (lí) + noun phrase + 远 (yuǎn) /近 (jìn)

我家离超市近。(wǒ jiā lí chāo shì jìn) My house is close to the supermarket.

公园离学校很远。(gōng yuán lí xué xiào hěn yuǎn) The park is very far from the school.

Specific Distances

When you need to tell someone  that a place is specific distance from somewhere, we add 有 (yǒu) + distance. Remember, 有 (yǒu) means ‘to have’, so the sentence becomes ‘a place + away from + a place + has this much distance between them’.

Noun phrase + 离 (lí) + noun phrase + 有 (yǒu) + distance

我公司离酒吧有五里。(wǒ gōng sī lí jiǔ bā yǒu wǔ lǐ) My company is 5 miles from the bar.

Here are some useful measurements of distance:

英里 (yīng lǐ) a mile

公里 (gōng lǐ) a kilometer

公尺 (gōng chǐ) Metre

里 (lǐ) Chinese mile

Asking if a place is near or far

Noun phrase + 离 (lí) noun phrase 远不远 (yuǎn bù yuǎn)？

Noun phrase + 离 (lí) noun phrase 近不近 (jìn bù jìn)？

你家离图书馆远不远？(nǐ jiā lí tú shū guǎn yuǎn bù yuǎn?) Is your home far (or not far) away from the library?

OR

Noun phrase + 离 (lí) noun phrase 远吗 (yuǎn ma)？

Noun phrase + 离 (lí) noun phrase 近吗 (jìn ma)？

你家离图书馆近吗？ (nǐ jiā lí tú shū guǎn jìn ma?) Is your home close to the library?

Directions in Chinese

Asking Where a Place is

Place + 在 (zài) + 哪儿 (nǎr ) /哪里 (nǎ lǐ)?

超市在哪儿？(chāo shì zài nǎr) /超市在哪里？(chāo shì zài nǎ lǐ)

Where is the supermarket?

超市在图书馆的旁边。(chāo shì zài tú shū guǎn 的 páng biān) The supermarket is next to the library.

Asking How to Get to a Place

A simple way to ask someone how to get somewhere is by asking:

怎么走？(zěn me zǒu?)

How do I get there?

However, if you need to be more specific and ask how to get from one place to another use the following pattern:

从 (cóng) + place + 到 (dào) + place 怎么走？(zěn me zǒu?)

从酒店到商场怎么走？(cóng jiǔ diàn dào shāng chǎng zěn me zǒu.)

How do I get from the hotel to the mall?

从。。。到 means ‘from….to’.

Taking and Giving Directions in Chinese

Here are some simple instructions for giving and taking directions:

The character 往 (wǎng) means ‘to go in the direction of’ and the final character, 拐 (guǎi) means ‘turn’. The following sentence pattern is to say ‘make a right/left turn’.

往 (wǎng) + direction + 拐 (guǎi)。

往左拐。(wǎng zuǒ guǎi) Turn left.

To tell someone to go straight forward, you don’t need to use 往 (wǎng), just use the phrase,

一直走。(yī zhí zǒu) Go straight ahead.

We’ll look at transportation and getting around in more detail in a future article.

Exercises

Translate the English sentences into Chinese.

1: The polar bear is sitting is the left side of the rabbit.

2: The rabbit stood in the front of the fox.

Translate the Chinese into English.

3: 北京在中国的北部，广州在中国的南部。

The answers are in the comment section of The China Story of a Laowai Lifer.