Synonym of Just in Chinese

Posted on by tiffany

剛 · 剛才 · 剛剛 — 近義詞辨析
Similar words

刚 gāng · 刚才 gāngcái · 刚刚 gānggāng

Three ways to say “just” in Mandarin — and the grammar that tells them apart.

The words 刚 gāng, 刚刚 gānggāng, and 刚才 gāngcái are all used to indicate an action that has just happened a short while ago. However, there are some subtle differences in their meanings and usage.

一

刚 gāng

Adverb

It is an adverb that can only be used before a verb or adjective and after a subject. It emphasizes that an action has just happened or that something is just about to happen, and it covers the longest period of time among the three “just” expressions.

The funny thing is 刚 gāng can be used to indicate an event that occurred in the past, present, or even future. The concept is more focused on the time frame — a short period of time — rather than the tense.

Subject + 刚gāng + Verb / Adjective
他tā昨天zuótiān刚gāng到dào北京Běijīng。
He just arrived in Beijing yesterday. (Past)
我wǒ刚gāng出门chūmén。
I just went out. (Present)
你nǐ刚gāng到dào学校xuéxiào的de时候shíhòu一定yídìng要yào跟gēn老师lǎoshī打招呼dǎzhāohū。
You must say hello to the teacher when you just (first) arrive at school. (Future)
你nǐ刚gāng去qù见jiàn谁shéi？
Who did you just go see?
天tiān刚gāng晴qíng。
The weather just cleared up.
我wǒ刚gāng买mǎi了le新xīn手机shǒujī。
I just bought a new cellphone.
她的tāde狗gǒu刚gāng死sǐ，现在xiànzài她tā没méi心情xīnqíng去qù夜店yèdiàn。
Her dog just died, so she’s not in the mood to go to the nightclub now.
他tā刚gāng走zǒu了le三天sāntiān。
He left only three days ago.
二

刚才 gāngcái

Noun · Time Word

It is a time word (noun) that can be placed either before or after the subject. 刚才 gāngcái refers to something that happened a very short time ago, typically within the last few minutes or seconds — a shorter span than 刚 gāng. Since it’s a noun, do not place it before an adjective.

(Subject +) 刚才gāngcái (+ Subject) + Verb Phrase
刚才gāngcái有yǒu你的nǐde电话diànhuà，可是kěshì你nǐ不在búzài。
I had a call from you just now, but you weren’t there.
我wǒ刚才gāngcái吃chī饱bǎo了le。
I just finished eating.
我wǒ刚才gāngcái买mǎi了le冰淇淋bīngqílín，快kuài来lái吃chī！
I bought ice cream just now, come and have some!
刚才gāngcái你nǐ去qù哪里nǎlǐ了le？
Where did you go just now?
刚才gāngcái的de咖啡kāfēi加jiā了le糖táng吗ma？
The coffee we had earlier had sugar in it?
你nǐ刚才gāngcái为什么wèishénme不bù说shuō？
Why didn’t you say anything a moment ago?
我wǒ刚才gāngcái没méi喝hē咖啡kāfēi。
I didn’t drink coffee just now.
三

刚刚 gānggāng

Adverb · The Safe Default

刚刚 gānggāng can be used to express both 刚 gāng and 刚才 gāngcái. If you’re not sure which of the other two to use, you can always reach for 刚刚 gānggāng instead.

Subject + 刚刚gānggāng + Verb Phrase
他tā刚刚gānggāng决定juédìng放弃fàngqì学xué中文zhōngwén了le。
He just decided to give up learning Chinese.
你nǐ不是búshì刚刚gānggāng到dào中国Zhōngguó，为什么wèishénme到dào现在xiànzài一个yíge朋友péngyou也yě没有méiyǒu？
You didn’t just arrive in China. Why haven’t you made any friends yet?
你nǐ刚刚gānggāng说shuō的de话huà有点yǒudiǎn过分guòfèn。
What you just said was a bit over the line.
我wǒ刚刚gānggāng看到kàndào他tā，他tā好像hǎoxiàng很hěn累lèi。
I just saw him — he seems really tired.
04  ·  Watch Out

Common Pitfalls

刚 gāng — the adverb must come after the subject
✕刚gāng我wǒ在zài咖啡店kāfēidiàn买mǎi咖啡kāfēi
✓我wǒ刚gāng在zài咖啡店kāfēidiàn买mǎi咖啡kāfēi

As an adverb, 刚 gāng always needs to follow the subject — it can’t lead the sentence.

刚 gāng — can’t come right before 的
✕刚gāng的de咖啡kāfēi加jiā了le糖táng吗ma
✓刚才gāngcái的de咖啡kāfēi加jiā了le糖táng吗ma

刚 gāng is an adverb and can’t precede 的. 刚才 gāngcái is a noun, so it can — swap in 刚才 whenever you need “the [thing] from just now.”

刚 gāng — has no negated form
✕我wǒ刚gāng没méi喝hē咖啡kāfēi
✓我wǒ刚才gāngcái没méi喝hē咖啡kāfēi

刚 gāng has no negated form in standard Mandarin (though some Taiwanese speakers do say it colloquially). Use 刚才 gāngcái for a negated statement.

刚 gāng — doesn’t pair with change-of-state 了
✕我wǒ刚gāng吃chī饱bǎo了le
✓我wǒ刚才gāngcái吃chī饱bǎo了le

The change-of-state 了 (marking a new state, e.g. “now full”) conflicts with 刚 gāng, which already signals a very recent, short-lived action. Use 刚才 gāngcái instead.

刚才 gāngcái — a noun can’t modify an adjective
✕天tiān刚才gāngcái晴qíng
✓天tiān刚gāng晴qíng

刚才 gāngcái is a noun, so it can’t sit directly in front of an adjective like 晴. Use the adverb 刚 gāng instead.

刚才 gāngcái — can’t be followed by a duration
✕他tā刚才gāngcái走zǒu了le三天sāntiān
✓他tā刚gāng走zǒu了le三天sāntiān

刚才 gāngcái can’t be followed by a length of time like 三天. Use 刚 gāng, which pairs naturally with durations.

05  ·  At a Glance

Quick Comparison

WordPart of SpeechTime FrameKey Restrictions
刚gāng Adverb Longest of the three; past, present, or future No negation, no 了2 (change-of-state), can’t precede 的
刚才gāngcái Noun (time word) Very short time ago — minutes or seconds Can’t modify an adjective, can’t take a duration
刚刚gānggāng Adverb Covers both 刚 and 刚才 The safe default when unsure which to use
06  ·  Practice

Practice Quiz

PRACTICE QUIZ Question 1 of 10
The coffee we just had, did it have sugar in it?
    的de咖啡kāfēi加jiā了le糖táng吗ma？
I just arrived at the office; give me a minute.
我wǒ    到dào办公室bàngōngshì，给gěi我wǒ一分钟yìfēnzhōng。
Where did you go a moment ago?
    你nǐ去qù哪里nǎlǐ了le？
The sky just turned clear.
天tiān    晴qíng。
I didn’t drink coffee just now.
我wǒ    没méi喝hē咖啡kāfēi。
He left only three days ago.
他tā    走zǒu了le三天sāntiān。
He just decided to quit smoking.
他tā    决定juédìng戒jiè烟yān了le。
You didn’t just start work — why are you already asking for a raise?
你nǐ不是búshì    开始kāishǐ工作gōngzuò，为什么wèishénme现在xiànzài就jiù要yào加薪jiāxīn？
I just bought a new bag.
我wǒ    买mǎi了le一个yíge新xīn包包bāobāo。
What you just said was a bit excessive.
你nǐ    说shuō的de话huà有点yǒudiǎn过分guòfèn。
Complete
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