How do i say this..? (Word: in)

[Ayoo]

hey guys..

 

the word "in" is sometimes pretty confusing for me..

i had to use some sentences with different uses of "in"

 

for example:

 

in this area we managed xxx € -> do i say -> 在 ... 中管理 XX 欧元  or without zhong?

 

another example:

 

in XX months we reached over a 100 viewer ->  without 在 but with 内? -> 7 个月内达到超过 100 名观众  (with or without ming? haha)

 

 

i appreciate your help ❤️ 

 

[黄有光]

Hey there!  I can't answer everything you asked, but I think I can be of some help here.

 

Firstly, it is important to keep in mind that Chinese is a totally different beast from English, and it will often communicate ideas in totally different ways. One example of this is that there are far fewer prepositions in common use in Chinese compared to English. 

 

In English, here are prepositions communicating location that I can think of off the top of my head:  in, on, under, by, next to, between, underneath, above

These are the ones I can think of off the top of my head for Chinese: 在

 

That's a pretty stark difference. I didn't list all of the prepositions. Only the ones that communicate location. And anyway, I'm sure there are plenty I forgot to list or that I'm not aware of because they are more literary. But it's still a pretty extreme difference.

 

Instead of prepositions, Chinese will often communicate the same information with a noun, generally in combination with 在。

 

Examples of these nouns include: 之间，下面，上面，之中，外侧，中间，and many others besides.

 

Sometimes, an English sentence which would involve the use of a preposition doesn't require any preposition at all in Chinese.

 

I will let someone more experienced weigh in on precise translations of the phrases you asked about. I could take a stab at it but I would worry about giving you an incorrect translation. 

[Demonic_Duck]

Basically, 在 is a very general preposition that roughly means "at"*, and adding 中、里、上、下、内、外 etc. after the location serves to give more information about the relative position. There are also variations of those, such as 之＿、＿头、＿面 (e.g. 之中、里头、外面) that basically mean the same thing.

• 我在家： I'm at home
• 我在家里： I'm in [my] home
• 我在家外面： I'm outside [my] home

 

On 9/10/2021 at 11:26 AM, Ayoo said:

in this area we managed xxx € -> do i say -> 在 ... 中管理 XX 欧元  or without zhong?

 

Without 中 is better, assuming "area" means an abstract domain (领域) rather than a physical region (区域). You could idiomatically use 上 for such abstract things: 我们在这个领域上很有经验, or 我们在这个领域上管理 XX 欧元 as in your example.

 

On 9/10/2021 at 11:26 AM, Ayoo said:

in XX months we reached over a 100 viewer ->  without 在 but with 内? -> 7 个月内达到超过 100 名观众  (with or without ming? haha)

 

Here, the within-ness is important, so yes, 内 is necessary. 我们在 7 个月之内已经超过了 100 名观众 (之 is optional; 名 is necessary, otherwise 观众 would lack a classifier).

 

*Sometimes technically a verb meaning "to be at" — I believe it's typically thought to be a preposition in 我在家看书 where there's another main verb 看, but a verb in 我在家 where there's no other verb. But I wouldn't worry too much about this distinction.

[Ayoo]

woah thank you so much Demonic_Duck! It was so helpful ❤️