A coverb is a part of speech that includes words that are lexically verbs, but are generally used to convey the meaning of prepositions. Coverbs are featured most prominantly in the Chinese languages. The term preverb is also sometimes used to refer to coverbs; however that term has its own separate meaning as well.

Coverbs in Chinese

Whether prepositions exist in Chinese is sometimes considered an open question. The role of prepositions in Chinese is fulfilled by localizers appearing as postpositions, and by coverbs. For this reason, coverbs are often referred to as prepositions because they appear before the noun phrase they modify. In Chinese, both prepositions and coverbs are referred to as 介詞 (pinyin: jiè cí). However, unlike prepositions, coverbs can sometimes stand alone as main verbs. The use of coverbs is part of the serial verb construction, which is a basic feature of Chinese grammar. For instance:

帮(bāng) 你(nǐ) 找(zhǎo) 他(tā) 。(.) [ 我幫你找他。 ]
literally: I help you find him.
I will find him for you.

The coverb phrase, "help you" (bāng nǐ), is used in conjunction with the main verb "find" (zhǎo) and functions the same way as the English prepositional phrase, "for you," in this context.

Certain verbs in Chinese can function as coverbs, taking on a idiomatic prepositional meaning. For instance, when used as a standalone verb, 到 (dào) means "to arrive." However, when used as a coverb, it can mean "to." Many coverbs are often used only in their prepositional sense, such as 从 (cóng), which is almost always seen as a coverb meaning "from." Here is an example showing a serial verb construction involving several coverbs:

我(wǒ) 坐(zuò) 飞机(fēijī) 从(cóng) 上海(Shànghǎi) 到(dào) 北京(Běijīng) 去(qù) 。(.) [ 我坐飛機從上海到北京去。 ]
literally: I sit airplane originate Shanghai arrive Beijing travel.
I travel from Shanghai to Beijing by airplane.

Many coverbs can be used as the main verb in a sentence, usually with the addition of modal particles.

我(wǒ) 到(dào) 北京(Běijīng) 了(le) 。(.) [ 我到北京了。 ]
I have arrived in Beijing.