在乎 (zài hu) means to care about; also to lie in or be due to an attribute.
Dictionary reading and meanings#
zài hu: to rest with; to lie in; to be due to (a certain attribute); (often used in the negative) to care about
Reading the pinyin#
In zài hu, a syllable without a tone mark represents the dictionary’s neutral-tone reading. The source dictionary uses the number 5 for that category; this page uses unmarked syllables in its tone-mark display. Open University’s tone guide illustrates the unmarked convention.
The spelling above follows the dictionary headword reading. It is a citation form, rather than a recording of a particular speaker. A written gloss is not a complete rule for choosing a word in every sentence.
Does this word always have one English translation?#
Use the listed sense that fits the sentence. Where the dictionary gives more than one reading or meaning, they are shown above rather than collapsed into a single universal translation.
Sources and lexical-data licence#
Lexical data adapted from CC-CEDICT contributors, distributed by MDBG, release dated 23 October 2026. English glosses have been shortened or reformatted here. This adapted lexical data is provided under CC BY-SA 4.0. The explanatory prose is newly written.