Comparing "cai" and "jiu"

Both 才 (cái) and 就 (jiù) are adverbs that have to do with expressing time, and they are both placed in front of the verb. However, they both have a different tone and feel, and they express different lengths of time.

才

才 expresses that the speaker thinks that the the time that passed since the action takes place was a long time. Sometimes it expresses anxiety, impatience, anger etc.

Structure

才 + Verb

Examples

• 我 等 了 两 个 小时 才 买 到 票。 I waited two hours before I bought the ticket.
• 他 迟到 了 半 个 小时 才 来。He came a half an hour late.

就

就　expresses that the speaker thinks that the time since the action happened is short, and it has a surprise, unexpectedness, or even sometimes regret.

Structure

就 + Verb

Examples

• 你们 这么 早 就 下班 了？Why are you guys leaving work so early?
• 他 两 年 以前 就 去世 了。He only died two years ago.

就 is used to express earliness

就 indicates that something has occurred earlier than expected

Structure

Subject + Time + 就 + Verb + Object

Examples

• 他 下午 四点 就 吃 晚饭。He ate dinner at four in the afternoon.

Example dialog

• A: 你 怎么 才 来？Why didn't you arrive until now?
• B: 我 八点 就 出门 了，路 上 堵车 我 也 没 办法。I left at eight, but there was a traffic jam. I couldn't help it.

See also

• Expressing lateness with "cai"
• Expressing earliness with "jiu"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (section)(p.107)→buy