就 (earliness)

• Pinyin: jiù
• Formation: Subject + Time + 就 + Verb + (了)
• Hanzi breakdown: 就 = 京 (capital) + 尢 (lame)

Meaning

When 就 (jiù) is placed after a time expression and before the verb, it indicates that the action happened earlier than expected. It conveys a sense of 'as early as' or 'already' with a tone of surprise or emphasis.

This use of 就 highlights that something occurred sooner than the speaker or listener anticipated. It often contrasts with 才 (cái), which indicates lateness — 'not until.' For example, 他七点就来了 (He came as early as 7) versus 他七点才来 (He didn't come until 7). The emotional nuance is important: 就 implies the speaker considers the timing early or fast, while 才 implies it was late or slow. 就 in this pattern is always followed by a verb and usually the sentence ends with 了 to mark the completed early action. This is distinct from the 'then/consequently' use of 就 in conditional sentences.

Examples

1. 他每天六点就起床了。 He gets up as early as 6 o'clock every day.
2. 我们八点上课，她七点半就到了。 Our class starts at 8, but she arrived by 7:30.
3. 这孩子三岁就会认字了。 This child could already read characters at age 3.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, written, everyday

Tone: emphatic

Do Say

• 她五岁就开始学钢琴了。
• 我昨天十点就把作业写完了。
• 他二十岁就当上了经理。
• 今天的票一小时就卖光了。

Don't Say

• 他六点才起床了。(才 and sentence-final 了 are rarely used together — 才 implies lateness and does not pair naturally with the completed-action 了) → 他六点才起床。
• 她七点半就到。(When emphasizing earliness of a completed action, sentence-final 了 is usually needed to mark that the early action has already happened) → 她七点半就到了。

Origin & History

The character 就 originally meant 'to approach' or 'to go near.' Its adverbial use expressing earliness or swiftness developed from the idea of quickly arriving at a result. This sense of temporal proximity is one of the most common functions of 就 in modern Chinese.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal