在乎 (zàihu) — to care about; to mind; to take to heart

在乎 (zàihu)

在乎 means "to care about" or "to mind." It expresses emotional investment in something — being affected by it, taking it to heart, or being bothered by it. It is most common in negative or interrogative forms: 不在乎 ("not care") and 在乎吗 ("do you care?").

Meanings

1. [verb] To care about; to mind; to take to heart; to be affected by — expresses that something matters emotionally to the subject.

Example Sentences

他根本不在乎别人的看法。 Tā gēnběn bú zàihu biérén de kànfǎ. He does not care at all about other people's opinions.

你在乎他吗？ Nǐ zàihu tā ma? Do you care about him?

我不在乎结果，只要我尽力了就好。 Wǒ bú zàihu jiéguǒ, zhǐyào wǒ jìnlì le jiù hǎo. I don't care about the result; as long as I gave it my best, that's enough.

她很在乎家人的感受。 Tā hěn zàihu jiārén de gǎnshòu. She cares a great deal about how her family feels.

Collocations

Memory Hook

在 = "to be / to exist at." 乎 is a classical particle expressing a state. 在乎 = "your heart exists there" at that thing — you are emotionally present at it, meaning it matters to you.