刚才gāng cáijust now
刚才 (gāng cái) means "just now." It appears in 你刚才说什么? (What did you say just now?) and 他刚才还在这儿。 (He was still here just now.) A asks 刚才谁给你打电话? (Who called you just now?) and B replies that it was their mother. It combines 刚 (just; only a short while ago) and 才 (just now).
What does 刚才 mean?
- 1.
just nownoun
What do the characters in 刚才 mean?
- 刚just; only a short while ago
- 才just now
How do you use 刚才?
See it in 刚才说什么 and 刚才还在这儿
What are some examples of 刚才 in a sentence?
How is 刚才 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
刚才谁给你打电话?
Gāngcái shéi gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà?
Who called you just now?
- Speaker B:
我妈妈。
Wǒ māma.
My mom.
- Speaker A:
她说什么了?
Tā shuō shénme le?
What did she say?
- Speaker B:
她让我晚上早点回家。
Tā ràng wǒ wǎnshang zǎo diǎn huí jiā.
She told me to come home early tonight.
Can you use 刚才 correctly?
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Related words
- 刚gāngjustHSK 3
- 刚刚gāng gāngjust a moment agoHSK 3
- 才cáithen and only then; not untilHSK 3
- 世界shì jièworldHSK 3
- 中zhōngwithin; among; inHSK 3
- 中间zhōng jiānthe middle; the insideHSK 3
Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.
English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.