Expressing "just now" with "gangcai"

In order to say that something "just now" occurred, use the time noun 刚才 (gāngcái). It can be placed in front of the verb or the subject of a statement.

Structure

This grammar structure is pretty straightforward. Similar to the English "just now," you can put 刚才 (gāngcái) right before the verb in a sentence. It can also come before the subject or after the subject.

刚才 + Verb

Examples

• 你 刚才 说 什么？Nǐ gāngcái shuō shénme le? What did you just say?
• 刚才 谁 来 了？Gāngcái shéi lái le? Just now who came?
• 刚才 你 去 哪儿 了？Gāngcái nǐ qù nǎr le? Just now where did you go?
• 刚才 我 去 洗手间 了。Gāngcái wǒ qù xǐshǒujiān le. Just now I went to the washroom.
• 老板 刚才 生气 了。Lǎobǎn gāngcái shēngqì le. The boss just got angry.
• 你们 刚才 在 看 什么？Nǐmen gāngcái zài kàn shénme? What were you looking at?
• 不好意思，我 刚才 出去 了。Bùhǎoyìsi, wǒ gāngcái chūqù le. I'm sorry, I just now stepped out.
• 宝宝 刚才 哭 了。Bǎobǎo gāngcái kū le. The baby just now cried.
• 他们 刚才 去 开会 了。Tāmen gāngcái qù kāihuì le. They went to a meeting just now.
• 刚才 有 人 找 你。Gāngcái yǒu rén zhǎonǐ. Just now there was someone looking for you.

See also

• Comparing "gang" and "gangcai"
• Explaining results with "suoyi"
• Cause and effect with "yinwei" and "suoyi"
• Stating the effect before the cause (advanced article)

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 217)→buy