Expressing lateness with "cai"

To express that something happened later than expected, you can use 才 (cái). In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until." This form is often used with a time of some sort, like a specific time of day, age, etc.

Structure

Subj. + Time + 才 + Verb

Examples

• 我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 。Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā.I didn't arrive 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 when you need to show up at work at nine?
• 飞机 刚刚 才 起飞 ，晚点 了 两 个 小时 。Fēijī gānggāng cái qǐfēi, wǎndiǎn le liǎng gè xiǎoshí.The flight just took off. It was delayed for two hours.
• 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.

You can use 才 alone with the verb to indicate the lateness when the context is clear:

• 你 怎么 才 吃 晚饭 ？已经 十点 了 。Nǐ zěnme cái chī wǎnfàn? Yǐjīng shí diǎn le.How come you are eating dinner now? It's 10 pm.
• 你 怎么 才 来 ？我们 等 了 半 个 多 小时 。 Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒmen děng le bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.How come you came here so late? We've waited for more than half an hour.

Note that verbs following 才 cannot take 了, as the action does not have the sense of being completed. So 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"
• Using "cai" for small numbers
• 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