Example sentences
xiàn现zài在jiù就zǒu走ma吗？
Leave now?
wǒ我xiàn现zài在hěn很máng忙。
I'm busy now.
About this word
现 means "to appear, present" and 在 means "to be at, to exist". Put together, 现在 is "the present that exists", meaning now. It is the ordinary, all-purpose word. It fits at the start of a sentence (现在我很忙) or right before the verb (我现在很忙), and both sound natural. Compare 目前 and 如今, which are more formal and lean toward writing. One common mistake: 现在 is a time word, so it does not take 在 in front of it.
The story behind the character
现
王 (jade) plus 见 (to see). It meant the luster of jade showing through, then "to appear," then "the present."
在
才 on top, 土 (earth) below. A plant just breaking through the soil. That's existence. Xu Shen wrote 在, 存也: "to exist." So "我在家" is literally "I exist, here at home."