刚才 (gāngcái): How to Say “Just Now” (and 刚 vs 刚才)
刚才 (gāngcái) is “just now” — a time noun for the very recent past, a few minutes ago (你刚才说什么了？). It moves around the subject, usually takes 了, and — unlike the adverb 刚 — it can even modify a noun: 刚才的事.
Why this trips learners up
To say something happened just now — a moment ago, within the last few minutes — Chinese uses 刚才 (gāngcái). It's a time noun, like 今天 or 现在, so it slides around the subject: 刚才你去哪儿了？= 你刚才去哪儿了？(“where did you go just now?”). And because it marks a finished, very recent action, it usually carries 了: 老板刚才走了 (“the boss just left”).
The thing to nail is 刚才 vs 刚. Both come out as “just (now)”, but they're different words. 刚 is an adverb — it glues right before the verb, its “recent” is flexible (我们昨天刚到 = “we just arrived yesterday” is fine), and it usually drops 了. 刚才 is a time noun — strictly a few minutes ago (never 昨天刚才), movable, usually with 了, and it can sit before a noun the way 刚 never can: 刚才的电话 (“the call just now”), 刚才的事 (“what just happened”). Minutes-ago, like a clock reading? 刚才. A verb-hugging “just,” maybe further back? 刚.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
wǒ 我 Subject gāngcái 刚才 Pattern gěi 给 Function word nǐ 你 Object dǎ 打 Verb diànhuà 电话 Object le 了 Function word
I just called you (a moment ago).
gāngcái 刚才 Pattern wàimiàn 外面 Place xiàyǔ 下雨 Verb le 了 Function word
It was raining just now.
nǐ 你 Subject gāngcái 刚才 Pattern zài 在 Adverb gēn 跟 Function word shéi 谁 Question shuōhuà 说话 Verb
Who were you talking to just now?
gāngcái 刚才 Pattern de 的 Function word cài 菜 Subject yǒudiǎn 有点 Adverb xián 咸 Adjective
The dish just now was a bit too salty.
duìbuqǐ 对不起 Other wǒ 我 Subject gāngcái 刚才 Pattern méi 没 Negation tīng qīngchu 听清楚 Verb
Sorry, I didn't catch that just now.
xiànzài 现在 Time wǒ 我 Subject gǎnjué 感觉 Verb bǐ 比 Connector gāngcái 刚才 Pattern hǎo 好 Adjective duō 多 Adverb le 了 Function word
I feel much better now than I did a moment ago.
gāngcái 刚才 Pattern nàge 那个 Measure word dǎ diànhuà 打电话 Verb de 的 Function word rén 人 Subject shì 是 Verb shéi 谁 Question
Who was that person who called just now?
tā 他 Subject gāngcái 刚才 Pattern hái 还 Adverb zài 在 Verb zhèr 这儿 Place zěnme 怎么 Question yíxiàzi 一下子 Adverb jiù 就 Adverb bújiàn 不见 Verb le 了 Function word
He was right here a moment ago — how did he vanish so fast?
Common mistakes
Why it happens: 刚才 only reaches back a few minutes — it can't stretch to “yesterday” or “last week”. “We just arrived yesterday” is 我们昨天刚到 (the adverb 刚, whose “recent” is flexible), never 昨天刚才.
Why it happens: 刚才 marks a finished, very recent action, so it usually wants 了. “The boss just left” is 老板刚才走了, not 老板刚才走. (刚 is the one that often drops 了: 老板刚走.)
Why it happens: To say something didn't happen just now, use 刚才没 — not 刚没. “I didn't see you just now” is 我刚才没看到你. 刚 doesn't pair with 没 for the past.
Compare & contrast
| 刚才 — “just now” (a time noun, ~minutes ago) | 刚 — “just” (an adverb, recent but flexible) | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 我刚才到了。wǒ gāngcái dào le. | 我昨天刚到。wǒ zuótiān gāng dào. | 我刚才到了 = “I arrived just now” — minutes ago, with 了. 我昨天刚到 = “I just arrived yesterday” — 刚 reaches back, 刚才 can't. |
| 刚才的事gāngcái de shì | 他刚走tā gāng zǒu | 刚才的事 = “what just happened” — 刚才 can modify a noun. 他刚走 = “he just left” — 刚 only sits before a verb (or adjective), never before 的 + noun. |
Try it yourself
Say “I just saw him (a moment ago)” (刚才…了) — tap the words into order.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
刚才 (gāngcái): How to Say “Just Now” (and 刚 vs 刚才) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.