at, in, on

JLPT N5 3 strokes

Words with this Kanji

Usage of

The character is a classical and formal preposition commonly used in written Chinese. It generally means "at," "in," "on," or "to," indicating location, time, or direction. It often appears in formal or literary contexts rather than everyday spoken language.

Common Contexts

  • Location or time: Used to specify where or when something happens, e.g., 出生北京 (born in Beijing), 出版去年 (published last year).
  • Cause or reason: Sometimes used to introduce a cause or reason, often paired with words like 于是 (therefore).

Collocations and Patterns

  • 出生 + place: to indicate birthplace.
  • 出版 + time: to indicate publication time.
  • + noun/pronoun: as a preposition meaning "at/in/on/to."

Notes

  • is more formal and literary than common prepositions like .
  • It is often replaced by in spoken Chinese.
  • Avoid confusing with (yú, meaning "surplus" or "I" in classical Chinese).

Understanding helps learners read formal texts and classical Chinese more effectively.

Example Sentences

He was born in Beijing.

This book was published last year.

He was full of enthusiasm for work, so he was promoted quickly.