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Outline

我的手机在哪里?Where is my mobile phone?
Wǒ de shǒu jī zài nǎ lǐ?
你的手机在这里。Your mobile phone is here.
Nǐ de shǒu jī zài zhè lǐ.
你的手机在那里。Your mobile phone is over there.
Nǐ de shǒu jī zài nà lǐ.

Dialogue

1)A:妈妈里?
Māmā,zàilǐ?

Mum, where are you?

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B:公司呢?
zàigōng sī.ne?

I'm in the company, and you?

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1)A:家。
zàijiā.

I'm at home.

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2)A:手机里?
deshǒu jīzàilǐ?

Where is my mobile phone?

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B:手机里。
deshǒuzàizhèlǐ.

Your mobile phone is here.

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3)A:丽丽吗?
Lì lìzàima?

Is Lily around?

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B:在。
zài.

She is not around.

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A:里?
zàilǐ?

Where is she?

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B:那里。
zàinàlǐ.

She is over there.

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Grammar

˙ Where is sb/ sth? sb/ sth zài nǎ lǐ?

Where 哪里 (nǎ lǐ) is another important wh-question in Chinese. The structure is:

sb/sth哪里?
sb/sthzàinǎ lǐ?
lit.sb/sthto be at/inwhere?

Examples:

哪里?
zàinǎ lǐ?
lit.Youare atwhere?
爸爸哪里?
Bà bazàinǎ lǐ?
lit.Dadis atwhere?
我的手机哪里?
Wǒ de shǒu jīzàinǎ lǐ?
lit.My mobile phoneis atwhere?
˙ Here 这里 (Zhè lǐ) & There 那里(nà lǐ)

In English, When expressing sb or sth is here or over there, we don't use any preposition before "here" or "there", whereas in Chinese we must use the verb 在( zài) before 这里(zhè lǐ) or 那里(nà lǐ). The structure is as follows:

 

Examples:

里。
zàizhèlǐ.
I'm here.
手机里。
deshǒu jīzàizhèlǐ.
My mobile phone is here.
里。
Lǎobǎnzàilǐ.
The boss is over there.
里。
deqiánbāozàilǐ.
The boss is over there.

Vocabulary

哪里nǎ lǐpron.where
这里zhè lǐpron.here
那里nà lǐpron.there