Expressing lateness with "cai"

One of the ways to express lateness in Chinese is with 才 (cái).

Structure

To express that something happened later than expected, you can use 才.

Subj. + Time Word + 才 + Verb + Obj.

In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until." This form is often used with a time number of some sort, like a specific time, age etc.

Examples

• 今天 的 会议 刚刚 才 结束 。Jīntiān de huìyì gānggāng cái jiéshù.This meeting didn't end until just now.
• 我 昨天 才 听说 你 辞职 了 。Wǒ zuótiān cái tīngshuō nǐ cízhí le.I just heard yesterday that you quit your job.
• 你 怎么 才 来 ？我 等 了 你 半 个 多 小时 。 Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒ děng le nǐ bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.How come you just came? I've waited for you more than half an hour.
• 我 老板 四十 多 岁 才 结婚 。Wǒ lǎobǎn sìshí duō suì cái jiéhūn.My boss didn't get married until he was forty.
• 我 昨天 十 点 才 下班 。Wǒ zuótiān shí diǎn cái xiàbān.I got off work at ten o'clock yesterday.
• 他 二十 五 岁 才 上 大学 。Tā èrshí-wǔ suì cái shàng dàxué.He didn't go to college until he was 25.
• 我们 十点 上课，老师 十 点 半 才 来 。Wǒmen shí diǎn shàngkè, lǎoshī shí diǎn bàn cái lái.We have class at 10 o'clock and the teacher didn't come until half past ten.
• 我 等 了 十 分钟，他 才 给 我 开门 。Wǒ děng le shí fēnzhōng, tā cái gěi wǒ kāimén.He didn't open the door until I waited for ten minutes.

Note that verbs following 才 cannot take 了，as the action does not have the sense of being completed. So, in the above situation, it is wrong to say:

• 昨天 晚上 我的 女儿 一点半 才 回家 了 。Zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ de nǚ'ér yīdiǎn bàn cái huíjiā le.

See also

• Expressing earliness with "jiu"
• Comparing "cai" and "jiu"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 117-8) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 139) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 239)→buy

Websites

• East Asia Student: 就 and 才 in Mandarin: as early as, not until