Chinese symbol for “exist”
在
zài
to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for exist is 在 (zài), defined as: to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “exist”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 存在 | cún zài | to exist; to be |
| 生存 | shēng cún | to exist; to survive |
| 存 | cún | to exist; to deposit |
| 存有 | cún yǒu | to hold in storage; to retain |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 在.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 现在 (現在) | xiàn zài | now; at present; currently |
| 存在 | cún zài | to exist; to be |
| 正在 | zhèng zài | to be in the process of (doing sth); to be currently ...-ing |
| 在于 (在於) | zài yú | to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute); (of a matter) to be determined by; to be up to (sb) |
| 实在 (實在) | shí zài | really; actually |
| 在线 (在線) | zài xiàn | online; connected to the Internet; (fig.) (coll.) (of a person) mentally focused; engaged; (of skills, performance etc) sharp; on point; fun |
See also: Japanese symbol for “exist”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.