Emphasis with "jiushi"

Chinese-grammar-wiki-jiu.jpg

As an adverb, 就 (jiù) can be placed before the predicate to add emphasis. It often has an intense or provocative feel to it, like how we sometimes say in English "it's just not right!", or other similar phrases. It often appears as 就是.

Structure

It's as simple as putting 就 in front of a verb.

就 (是)+ Verb

Examples

  • 不说,他能怎么样?jiù bù shuō, tā néng zěnme yàng?I just can't say, what can he do?
  • 不让你去。jiù bù ràng nǐ qù.I'm just not going to let you go.
  • 是 不 听 我 的 话 。jiù shì bù tīng wǒ de huà.She just wouldn't listen to me.
  • 那个 女孩 不 太 漂亮,可 我弟弟是喜欢她。 Nà gè nǚhái bú tài piàoliang ,kě wǒ dìdi jiù shì xǐhuan tā. That girl is not so pretty but my younger brother just likes her.
  • 谁 都 知道 抽烟 对 身体 不好,可 很多人 是不戒烟。 Shuí dōu zhīdào chōuyān duì shēntǐ bùhǎo, Kě hěnduō rénjiù shì bú jièyān . Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your body but a lot of people just don't quit smoking.

See also


Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries