Expressing "just" with "gang"

Sometimes things happen in a flash, or they happen a very short time before you say something, and to express that, you can use 刚 (gāng).

Structure

刚 expresses that the action happened not long ago. It's used the same way as 刚刚.

Subject + 刚 + V.

Examples

• 他 刚 走。He just left.
• 我们 刚 下班。We just got off work.
• 我 刚 吃 完 饭。We just ate a meal.
• 我 刚 做 完 今天 的 工作。I just finished today's work.
• 宝宝 刚 起床。The baby just got out of bed.

Structure

刚 can also express "from the time an action happens until the present time".

Subject + 刚 + VO + Duration

Examples

• 我 刚 到 这里 五 分钟。I just got here five minutes ago.
• 我 刚 来 中国 半 年。I just got to China six months ago.
• 我 刚 学 中文 两 个 星期。I just started studying Chinese two weeks ago.

Make sure you pay attention to "刚来一会儿." and "刚来没一会儿。". Both have the same meaning, expressing that the 来 happened a short while ago.

See also

• "Just now" with "gangcai"
• Comparing "gang" and "gangcai"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 216)→buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (p. 239) →buy