<p>父亲 - father (subject)</p>
<p>正(在) - in the process of (preposition)</p>
<p>忙着 - busily (adverb)</p>
<p>写信 - writing letter (verb)</p>
<p>Both 正在 and 忙着 describe the verb 写信</p>
<ul>
<li><p>正在 indicates the verb is in a continuous state</p>
</li>
<li><p>忙着 (busily) describes the manner of the verb is carrying out</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>You can shorten 正在 to 正 or 在</p>
<ul>
<li>父亲正忙着写信 = 父亲在忙着写信 (father is busy writing letter)</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>父亲在忙写信</p>
</blockquote>
<p>忙着 is not often be shortened to just 忙 in normal speech,</p>
<p>but we can understand 父亲在忙写信 means 父亲正在忙着写信</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T18:00:06.890Z
So you'd say there's no difference in feeling when you use different combinations of present-continuous?
Joseph King
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T18:08:15.067Z
@Joseph King 正, 在, and 正在 all mark the verb as continuous. 正/ 正在 add an emphasis on 'in the middle of'
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T18:15:44.467Z
omg, you are simply too much, man. Are there private messages on this platform? I have a product idea I want to give to you. I think you'd be the perfect person to create this product. I personally feel it'd be revolutionary for Chinese learning. But I sort of don't want to just say it in public. I'm sure you would be able to create such a product, and it would definitely help the Chinese-learning community.
Joseph King
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T18:49:55.033Z
@Joseph King You can send a private message to me at [CantoDict](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/profile.php?8,6095)
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T06:40:12.700Z
2021-08-14T18:09:37.377Z
2021-08-14T18:09:37.377Z
Tang Ho
<p>&quot;父亲正忙着写信&quot;</p>
<p>In this sentence, it's saying &quot;Father is busy writing (or writing letters).&quot; But it's using 正 and 着 to indicate that it's currently happening (in progress right now). Does &quot;父亲正忙着写信&quot; have ANY difference whatsoever from &quot;父亲在忙写信&quot;?</p>
<p>Thanks so much! I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but this is such an amazing resource, and I feel like asking these questions only helps the community and fellow students of this beautiful language.</p>

<ambiguity>
"父亲正忙着写信" When expressing present-continuous, is there a difference in 'feeling' using different combinations of 在， 正在， 着， 呢， 正?
# "父亲正忙着写信" When expressing present-continuous, is there a difference in 'feeling' using different combinations of 在， 正在， 着， 呢， 正?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-14)

"父亲正忙着写信"

In this sentence, it's saying "Father is busy writing (or writing letters)." But it's using 正 and 着 to indicate that it's currently happening (in progress right now). Does "父亲正忙着写信" have ANY difference whatsoever from "父亲在忙写信"?

Thanks so much! I'm sorry for asking so many questions, but this is such an amazing resource, and I feel like asking these questions only helps the community and fellow students of this beautiful language.

**Tags:** ambiguity


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-08-14. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

父亲 - father (subject)

正(在) - in the process of (preposition)

忙着 - busily (adverb)

写信 - writing letter (verb)

Both 正在 and 忙着 describe the verb 写信

* 正在 indicates the verb is in a continuous state
* 忙着 (busily) describes the manner of the verb is carrying out

You can shorten 正在 to 正 or 在

* 父亲正忙着写信 = 父亲在忙着写信 (father is busy writing letter)

> 父亲在忙写信

忙着 is not often be shortened to just 忙 in normal speech,

but we can understand 父亲在忙写信 means 父亲正在忙着写信

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So you'd say there's no difference in feeling when you use different combinations of present-continuous?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 正, 在, and 正在 all mark the verb as continuous. 正/ 正在 add an emphasis on 'in the middle of'  
> **username_0**: omg, you are simply too much, man. Are there private messages on this platform? I have a product idea I want to give to you. I think you'd be the perfect person to create this product. I personally feel it'd be revolutionary for Chinese learning. But I sort of don't want to just say it in public. I'm sure you would be able to create such a product, and it would definitely help the Chinese-learning community.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 You can send a private message to me at [CantoDict](http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/profile.php?8,6095)  

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