Places and Location in Chinese
Two small grammar points cover almost everything: which verb to use, and where the position word goes.
我在学校 means “I’m at school.” 我去学校 means “I’m going to school.” One character changes the whole meaning.
在 vs 去
在 zài marks where something is. 去 qù marks where you’re going. Both come before the place: 我在家 (I’m at home), 我去商店 (I’m going to the shop).
English uses “at” and “to” for the same split, so the concept is familiar — the trap is that Chinese also uses 在 as a location marker before a verb: 我在学校吃饭 = “I eat at school.”
The words
Most of these link to HSK 2 pages — the places vocabulary splits across both levels.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 学校 | xuéxiào | school | HSK 1 |
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | shop, store | HSK 1 |
| 饭店 | fàndiàn | restaurant; hotel | HSK 1 |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | hospital | HSK 1 |
| 公司 | gōngsī | company, corporation; office | HSK 2 |
| 机场 | jīchǎng | airport | HSK 2 |
| 火车站 | huǒchēzhàn | train station | HSK 2 |
| 宾馆 | bīnguǎn | hotel | HSK 2 |
| 教室 | jiàoshì | classroom | HSK 2 |
| 房间 | fángjiān | room | HSK 2 |
Position words come after the noun
This is the one to memorise. In English, “on the table” puts the position word first. Chinese puts it last: 桌子上 — table-on. 房间里 — room-in. 学校前面 — school-in-front.
So 书在桌子上 is “the book is on the table” — the location phrase is 桌子上, literally “table on.”
Common mistakes
- 上桌子 instead of 桌子上 — The position word goes after the noun in Chinese.
- Using 去 for being somewhere — 我去家 means “I’m going home,” not “I’m at home.” For presence, use 在.
- Dropping 在 before a place verb — 我学校吃饭 is missing the marker — it should be 我在学校吃饭.
In a sentence
- 你在哪儿？ Nǐ zài nǎr?
Where are you? - 我去学校。 Wǒ qù xuéxiào.
I’m going to school. - 书在桌子上。 Shū zài zhuōzi shàng.
The book is on the table.