<p>The first definition in <strong>ABC</strong> answers this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>be at/in/on</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This might be similar to the word <em>around</em> in English because it doesn’t need to be followed by an object.</p>
<p>They give the example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>请问, 老王在吗?<br />
Qǐngwèn, Lǎo Wáng zài ma?<br />
Excuse me, is Old Wang there/here?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Perhaps it helps if you understand it as: Hey, is Wang around?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-20T23:45:27.753Z
yes, actually, that is a really nice explanation
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-20T15:56:29.900Z
2020-11-20T15:56:29.900Z
Mou某
<p>As a native Chinese speaker, this is an interesting observation. I have just checked on the dictionary of the Taiwanese Ministry of Education: <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=WyBuZ5&amp;o=e0&amp;sec=sec1&amp;op=v&amp;view=0-1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=WyBuZ5&amp;o=e0&amp;sec=sec1&amp;op=v&amp;view=0-1</a></p>
<p>It lists the following definitions which I can briefly explain in English:</p>
<p>Verb:</p>
<ul>
<li>live/alive</li>
<li>located at/being at/exist</li>
<li>decided by/reliant on</li>
<li>observe</li>
</ul>
<p>Adverb:</p>
<ul>
<li>being in the state of an action</li>
</ul>
<p>Preposition:</p>
<ul>
<li>at a time</li>
<li>at a place</li>
<li>at a scope</li>
</ul>
<p>Noun:</p>
<ul>
<li>place/home</li>
<li>the 在 surname</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>Now that we assume the grammar is correct because most Chinese use this in their daily lives, we can narrow the definition down to being a verb.</p>
<p>Then the second definition (located at) would be the most suitable in my opinion.</p>
<p>The person asking 你在嗎？ is interested to know if there <strong>was</strong> someone on the other end, which can absolutely be explained with the &quot;located at&quot;.</p>
<p>I guess it was a matter of mistranslation from those people as they just compared the English phrase with the Chinese phrase without thinking too hard.</p>
<p>在 in fact does not mean &quot;here&quot;, but &quot;exist/located at&quot; in the context.</p>
<hr />
<h3>Further more</h3>
<p>Also, 這裏 (here) is not a requirement and the sentence is completely fine without adding the object.</p>
<p>In fact, the shortest sentence used on a daily basis can be:</p>
<pre><code>在。 (Present)
</code></pre>
<p>which is the answer when a teacher checks for attendances. Here the subject is implied to be the speaker (I), but there is no omission of the location just as the English equivalent: &quot;I'm present&quot; VS &quot;I'm present at school&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-26T23:19:05.037Z
This does make sense since coverbs in Mandarin are verbs whose usage has been altered into prepositions, I always consider 在 to be a preposition but never contemplated its original usage as a verb
小奥利奥
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-20T18:30:52.317Z
2020-11-20T18:30:52.317Z
Daniel Cheung
<p>Yes, you are right. it's an incomplete sentence. The original one should be &quot;你在这吗？&quot; (Are you in here?), but since it's an oral speaking, people usually omit “这&quot;， sometimes even “你”.</p>
<p>In this sentence, “在” is a coverb and doesn't have the meaning of &quot;here&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-20T09:01:23.673Z
2020-11-26T02:31:45.250Z
2020-11-26T02:31:45.250Z
Actun
<p><strong>在</strong> in 你在吗? means '<strong>is present</strong>'</p>
<p>大考时你在这里吗? = Were you here during the final exam?</p>
<p>大考时你在那里吗? = Were you there during the final exam?</p>
<p>大考时你在(学校)吗? = Were you at the school during the final exam?</p>
<p><strong>大考时你在吗?</strong> = Were you present during the final exam? (It doesn't mention where the final exam took place, so you can use 'were present' or 'were there')</p>
<p>Similarly:</p>
<p>他犯案时你在現場吗? = Were you at the scene when he committed the crime?</p>
<p>他犯案时你在吗? = Were you present/ there when he committed the crime?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-20T10:38:47.123Z
2020-11-20T10:38:47.123Z
Tang Ho
<p>I just saw the phrase &quot;你在吗&quot; for the first time on Discord, I asked how this was grammatically correct (it looks like an incomplete sentence) and they insisted that 在 means &quot;here&quot;. I don't agree with that at all, 在 is a coverb and not a single dictionary I've looked in (online or otherwise) lists that as a definition. I could understand if the sentence omits 这里 since it's redundant, I could also understand if the sentence was the equivalent of &quot;Are you in?&quot; in English, but I do not agree with &quot;在 means here&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-20T10:54:56.020Z
你在吗 sounds more like "are you there?" in English.
dan
<grammar>
What does 在 mean in "你在吗"?
# What does 在 mean in "你在吗"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-20)

I just saw the phrase "你在吗" for the first time on Discord, I asked how this was grammatically correct (it looks like an incomplete sentence) and they insisted that 在 means "here". I don't agree with that at all, 在 is a coverb and not a single dictionary I've looked in (online or otherwise) lists that as a definition. I could understand if the sentence omits 这里 since it's redundant, I could also understand if the sentence was the equivalent of "Are you in?" in English, but I do not agree with "在 means here"

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 你在吗 sounds more like "are you there?" in English.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-11-20. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

**在** in 你在吗? means '**is present**'

大考时你在这里吗? = Were you here during the final exam?

大考时你在那里吗? = Were you there during the final exam?

大考时你在(学校)吗? = Were you at the school during the final exam?

**大考时你在吗?** = Were you present during the final exam? (It doesn't mention where the final exam took place, so you can use 'were present' or 'were there')

Similarly:

他犯案时你在現場吗? = Were you at the scene when he committed the crime?

他犯案时你在吗? = Were you present/ there when he committed the crime?


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-11-20. Score: 3

The first definition in **ABC** answers this:

> be at/in/on

This might be similar to the word *around* in English because it doesn’t need to be followed by an object.

They give the example:

> 请问, 老王在吗?  
> Qǐngwèn, Lǎo Wáng zài ma?  
> Excuse me, is Old Wang there/here?

Perhaps it helps if you understand it as: Hey, is Wang around?

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: yes, actually, that is a really nice explanation  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-11-20. Score: 2

As a native Chinese speaker, this is an interesting observation. I have just checked on the dictionary of the Taiwanese Ministry of Education: <http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=WyBuZ5&o=e0&sec=sec1&op=v&view=0-1>

It lists the following definitions which I can briefly explain in English:

Verb:

* live/alive
* located at/being at/exist
* decided by/reliant on
* observe

Adverb:

* being in the state of an action

Preposition:

* at a time
* at a place
* at a scope

Noun:

* place/home
* the 在 surname

---

Now that we assume the grammar is correct because most Chinese use this in their daily lives, we can narrow the definition down to being a verb.

Then the second definition (located at) would be the most suitable in my opinion.

The person asking 你在嗎？ is interested to know if there **was** someone on the other end, which can absolutely be explained with the "located at".

I guess it was a matter of mistranslation from those people as they just compared the English phrase with the Chinese phrase without thinking too hard.

在 in fact does not mean "here", but "exist/located at" in the context.

---

### Further more

Also, 這裏 (here) is not a requirement and the sentence is completely fine without adding the object.

In fact, the shortest sentence used on a daily basis can be:

```
在。 (Present)

```

which is the answer when a teacher checks for attendances. Here the subject is implied to be the speaker (I), but there is no omission of the location just as the English equivalent: "I'm present" VS "I'm present at school".

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: This does make sense since coverbs in Mandarin are verbs whose usage has been altered into prepositions, I always consider 在 to be a preposition but never contemplated its original usage as a verb  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-11-20. Score: 1

Yes, you are right. it's an incomplete sentence. The original one should be "你在这吗？" (Are you in here?), but since it's an oral speaking, people usually omit “这"， sometimes even “你”.

In this sentence, “在” is a coverb and doesn't have the meaning of "here".


---

