Comparing "gang" and "gangcai"

刚 (gāng) and 刚才 (gāngcái) are similar, but they have somewhat different uses.

Both Come Before the Verb, But Have Different Emphasis

刚 emphasizes something "just" happened

"刚" is actually an adverb, and it is placed in front of the verb. It emphasizes that the action just happened a short time ago. It is similar to the English "just."

The key here is that "a short time ago is relative, and determined by the speaker. For this reason, 刚 can indicate that something "just" happened 1 second ago, 5 minutes ago, 2 hours ago, 3 weeks ago, or even a year ago. The absolute time is flexible, but from the speaker's perspective, it feels recent.

Structure

刚 + Verb

Examples

• 他 刚 来。(This gives the impression that not only did he just get here, but he' should still be here.)He just came.
• 我 昨天 刚 看到 他。I just saw him yesterday.
• 我 刚 说过，不 想 再 说 一 遍。I just said it, and I don't want to say it again.
• 我们 去年 刚 去 过 美国 。 (This "just" is relative, clearly. The speaker feels that a year ago isn't too long ago.)We've just been to the States last year.

刚才 emphasizes "just now"

刚才 is a time noun (like 今天 and 现在), and it expresses that the time that has passed is really short, in near-absolute terms. We're talking no more than 1-30 minutes, in most situations. If it is placed before the verb, it emphasizes what happened in the time that has just passed. It is similar to the English "just now."

Structure

刚才 + Verb

Examples

• 他 刚才 来 了。(In this case, he's come and gone already. He's not here anymore.)He came just now.
• 我 刚才 看到 他 了。(Sounds like he's not here anymore; I just saw him, but don't see him now.)I just now saw him.
• 我 刚才 看 过 了，不 想 再 看 一 遍。I saw it just now, and I don't want to see it again.
• 我 觉得 现在 比 刚才 亮。(Here it's very clearly acting as a time noun.)I think it's brighter now that just before.

刚才 can be used as an attribute while 刚 cannot

刚才 can also directly modify a noun to indicate it is that one from "just now" or "just before."

Structure

刚才 + 的 + Noun

Examples

• 刚才 的 事情 太 让 人 生气 了。What just happened really made people angry.
• 刚 的 事情 太 让 人 生气 了。Just thing really makes people angry.

刚 can be used as "Just" while 刚才 cannot

刚 is an adverb, and it can also spruce up an adjective. It has the same meaning as 刚刚. (刚才 cannot do this.)

Structure

刚 + Adjective

Examples

• 天 刚 晴。The sky just became clear.
• 一 个 面包 刚 够 吃，多 一 个 更 好。One pice of bread is just enough, one more is even better.

Examples of right and wrong sentences

• 我 刚才 回家。
• 我 刚 回家。I just got home.
• 我 刚才 没 想好 吃 什么，现在 我 想好 了。Just a while ago, I didn't think up what to eat, now I just thought it up.
• 我 刚 没 想好 吃 什么，现在 我 想好 了。
• 他 刚才 没 听懂我的话。
• 他 刚 没 听懂我的话。
• 我 也 是 刚 听说 这 个 消息。
• 我 刚才 听说 了 这 个 消息。
• 昨天 他 刚才 来 过。
• 昨天 他 刚 来 过。

Example dialog

• A: 你 刚才 去 哪儿 了？Where did you go just now?
• B: 我 刚 上 完 厕所。I just got done in the bathroom.
• A: 那 你 不 知道 刚才 的 事情 吧？Then you don't know what just now happened?
• B: 是 不 是 有人 吵架 了？Did some people start arguing?

See also

• "Just now" with "gangcai"
• "Just" with "gang"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (刚 p.216) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (刚才 p.217) →buy
• 对外汉语教学语法释疑201例 (p.28) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 40- 2) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (p. 239) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p.446) →buy