not present; to have passed away
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 7 examplesverb
not present; not at home or a specific place
Used to indicate a person's absence from a location.
Nín您
zhǎo找
wǒ我
gē哥
ge哥
ya呀
，
tā他
bù不
zài在
。
You're looking for my brother? He's not here.
Tā他
bù不
zài在
bàn办
gōng公
shì室
，
kě可
néng能
shì是
lián联
xì系
gōng工
zuò作
qù去
le了
。
He's not in the office; he might have gone out on business.
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Qǐng请
wèn问
Wáng王
jīng经
lǐ理
zài在
ma吗
？
—
—
bào抱
qiàn歉
，
tā他
xiàn现
zài在
bù不
zài在
。
Is Manager Wang available? — Sorry, he's not in right now.
Wǒ我
zuó昨
tiān天
qù去
tā他
jiā家
，
tā他
gāng刚
hǎo好
bù不
zài在
。
I went to his house yesterday, but he happened to be out.
verb
to have passed away; to be deceased
formalA euphemism for death, often used with '了'.
Wǒ我
nǎi奶
nai奶
qù去
nián年
jiù就
bù不
zài在
le了
。
My grandmother passed away last year.
Nà那
wèi位
lǎo老
xiān先
shēng生
yǐ已
jīng经
bù不
zài在
le了
，
wǒ我
men们
dōu都
hěn很
huái怀
niàn念
tā他
。
That old gentleman is no longer with us; we all miss him dearly.
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Fù父
mǔ母
bù不
zài在
le了
，
xiōng兄
dì弟
jiě姐
mèi妹
gèng更
yào要
hù互
xiāng相
zhào照
gù顾
。
Now that our parents have passed away, we siblings must take care of each other even more.