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 + 才 + Verb

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

• 我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 。Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā.I didn't arrived at home until eleven o'clock last night.
• 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.
• 她 四十 岁 才 结婚 。Tā sìshí suì cái jiéhūn.She didn't get married until she was forty.
• 我 女儿 昨天 十二 点 才 睡觉 ，作业 太 多 了 。Wǒ nǚ'ér zuótiān shí'èr diǎn cái shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le.My daughter didn't go to bed until 12 o'clock yesterday. Too much homework.
• 你 九点 上班 ，八 点 半 才 起床 ？Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng?You get up at 8:30 while you need to show up at work at nine?
• 飞机 晚点 了 两 个 小时 ，十 点 半 才 起飞 。Fēijī wǎndiǎn le liǎng gè xiǎoshí, shí diǎn bàn cái qǐfēi.The flight was late for two hours. It didn't take off until half past ten.
• 电影 七点 半 开始 ，可是 因为 堵车 ，我们 八点 才 到 。Diànyǐng qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ, kěshì yīnwèi dǔchē, wǒmen bā diǎn cái dào.The movie began at 7:30, but we didn't arrive until eight because of traffic.
• 你 怎么 才 来 ？我们 等 了 你 半 个 多 小时 。 Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒmen děng le nǐ bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.How come you just came? We've waited for you more than half an hour.
• 我们 花 了 一 个 多 小时 才 找到 。Wǒmen huā le yī gè duō xiǎoshí cái zhǎodào.It took us more than an hour to find it.

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:

• 我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 了 。Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā le.

See also

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

Sources and further reading

Books

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

Websites

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