刚才 (just now)

• 拼音: gāngcái
• 结构: (刚才 +) Subject + (刚才 +) Verb + 了 + Object
• 汉字拆解: 刚 = 冈 (ridge) + 刂 (knife); 才 = a single stroke suggesting budding growth

含义

The word 刚才 is a time word meaning 'just now' or 'a moment ago.' It refers to a point in the very recent past and is placed before the verb to indicate that something happened a short time ago.

刚才 functions as a time adverb referring to a specific recent moment, typically within the last few minutes to an hour. Unlike 刚 which emphasizes the short duration since an event, 刚才 points to a definite moment in the recent past. Because 刚才 refers to a completed past event, it naturally pairs with 了 to mark completion. 刚才 can appear before the subject or between the subject and the verb. It is frequently used when referencing something that was just said, done, or observed. A key difference from 刚 is that 刚才 cannot be followed by a duration.

例句

1. 刚才谁给我打电话了？
2. 她刚才出去买东西了。
3. 刚才那个人你认识吗？

用法指南

语境: spoken, everyday

语气: conversational

正确说法

• 你刚才去哪儿了？我到处找你。
• 刚才外面下了一场大雨。
• 她刚才还在这里，怎么不见了？

错误说法

• 刚才我去了两个小时的商店。(刚才 refers to a point in time, not a duration — do not add duration phrases after 刚才) → 刚才我去了商店。
• 我刚才明天会去。(刚才 refers to the past — it cannot be used with future time words like 明天) → 我明天会去。

起源与历史

刚 means 'just' or 'barely' and 才 means 'only then.' Together 刚才 literally suggests 'just at that moment,' and has been used as a time word for the recent past since classical Chinese.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal