就 / 才【jiù / cái】

early, late, only then, as soon as, only if, as long as, sooner than expected, later than expected, jiu, cai

Two adverbs that judge a time, an amount or a condition, placed before the verb. says eight was early; says ten was late.

HSK 6

AI-generated

Structure

[subject] + [time] + 就 + [verb] + 了

[subject] + [time] + 才 + [verb]

只要 + [clause]，就 + [verb phrase]

只有 + [clause]，才 + [verb phrase]

Description

就 and 才 go before the verb and add the speaker's judgement to what comes before them. 就 says it happened early, easily or with little needed; 才 says it happened late, with difficulty or only after a lot.

。

He was here by eight.

。

He didn't come until ten.

Early or late, and 了

With a time word before it, 就 means "already, sooner than expected" and 才 means "not until". 就 sentences end in 了; 才 sentences don't, because 才 already says the event was held back.

。

I was up at six.

。

I didn't get up till nine.

× 他十点才来了 → 他十点才来

How long it took

The same split works with a length of time or an amount of effort before the adverb. With 就 it took little; with 才 it took a lot.

。

He finished writing it in just an hour.

。

It took him three whole hours to finish writing it.

。

I only had to say it once and he understood.

。

I had to say it three times before he understood.

Conditions: 只要…就, 只有…才

只要…就 gives a condition that is enough: "as long as". 只有…才 gives one that is required: "only if". The two halves don't swap partners.

，。

As long as you work at it, you'll learn it well.

，。

You'll only learn it well if you work at it.

× 只有努力，就能学好 → 只有努力，才能学好

Before a number

When 才 comes straight before a number, it means "only" – fewer, younger or earlier than you'd think. 就 in that position limits: "just that, nothing more".

。

He's only ten.

。

I've only got ten yuan.

就是 or 才是

就是 confirms what is already on the table; 才是 corrects it and points to the real one.

。

This is the very book I was talking about.

，。

That one isn't – this one is my book.

Examples

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