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刚才gāng cáijust now

HSK 3word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

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. 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?

  1. 你刚才说什么?

    Nǐ gāngcái shuō shénme?

    What did you say just now?

  2. 他刚才还在这儿。

    Tā gāngcái hái zài zhèr.

    He was still here just now.

How is 刚才 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    刚才谁给你打电话?

    Gāngcái shéi gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà?

    Who called you just now?

  2. Speaker B:

    我妈妈。

    Wǒ māma.

    My mom.

  3. Speaker A:

    她说什么了?

    Tā shuō shénme le?

    What did she say?

  4. 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?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 你___说什么? (What did you say just now?)
  2. 2.What does 他刚才还在这儿。 mean?
  3. 3.What does 刚才 mean in 刚才谁给你打电话??

What should you learn next?

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.