A possibly more typical, way to express location is to employ the character 在 zài with what we shall refer to as a postpositional phrase, which consists of a noun and a postposition.
里 li – in(side)
外 wài – out(side)
上 shàng – on, above, over
下 xià – under, below
前 qián – in front of
后 hòu – at the back of/behind
边/旁边 biān/ pángbiān – by the side of
中/中间 zhōng/ zhōngjiān – in the middle of
对面 duìmiàn – opposite
那儿/这儿 nàr/zhèr – at a place (there or here)
Disyllabic postpositions
in(side)
里面 lǐmiàn
里边 lǐbian
里头 lǐtou
out(side)
外面 wàimiàn
外边 wàibian
外头 wàitou
over
上面 shàngmian
上边 shàngbian
on, above
上头 shàngtou
under, below
下面 xiàmian
下边 xiàbian
下头 xiàtou
in front (of)
前面 qiánmian
前边 qiánbian
前头 qiántou
at the back (of)
后面 hòumian
后边 hòubian
后头 hòutou
Note: Other disyllabic postpositions with -面 -miàn or -边 -bian are:
左面/左边 zuǒmiàn/zuǒbian – to the left (of)
右面/右边 yòumiàn/yòubian – to the right (of)
东面/东边 dōngmiàn/dōngbian – to the east (of)
南面/南边 nánmiàn/nánbian – to the south (of)
西面/西边 xīmiàn/xībian – to the west (of)
北面/北边 běimiàn/běibian – to the north (of)
Such disyllabic postpositions usually follow disyllabic nouns to maintain a matching rhythm.
学校前边xuéxiào qiánbian – in front of the school
桌子后边zhuōzi hòubian – behind the table
椅子旁边yǐzi pángbiān – next to the chair
Disyllabic postpositions as location pronouns
Disyllabic postpositions can also function as place pronouns and combine with 在 zài to generate place phrases.
在后边 zài hòubian – at the back
在里头 zài lǐtou – inside
在上面 zài shàngmian – on top
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