刚刚

• Pinyin: gāng gāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 刚刚 — reduplication of 刚 = 冈 (ridge, phonetic) + 刂 (knife)

Meaning

Just; just a moment ago. Emphasises that something happened very recently.

A reduplicated form of 刚 that adds emphasis. More colloquial than 刚 alone. Very common in spoken Chinese for stressing that something happened moments ago.

Examples

1. 他刚刚出去了。 He just went out.
2. 我刚刚说的你听到了吗？ Did you hear what I just said?
3. 雨刚刚停了。 The rain just stopped.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken conversation, emphasis on recency

Tone: casual, emphatic

Do Say

• 他刚刚走了。(He just left a moment ago.)
• 我刚刚还看到他呢。(I just saw him a moment ago.)

Don't Say

• 在正式的书面语中少用刚刚 — in formal writing, prefer 刚 or 刚才 over the more colloquial 刚刚.

Origin & History

Reduplication of 刚 (just) for emphasis, a common word-formation pattern in Chinese.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal