How common it is
刚才 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.
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Pronunciation focus
Say gāngcái slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.
Usage note
“刚才”用来表示过去不久的时间点，通常指几分钟前或刚刚发生的事情。
gāngcái lái yòng bǎo shí gù guò zhǔn běn chéng fēn jǐ qián huò jiāng jiāng fā shén qing de shì qing.
"刚才" is used to indicate a recent time point, usually referring to something that happened just now or a few minutes ago.
Context note
“刚才”常用于描述最近发生的事情，比如在对话中询问某人是否做了某事。
gāngcái cháng yòng yú miáo shù zuì jìn fā shēn de shì qing, bǐ rú zài huà dá zhōng xún wèn měi rén dōu le mǒu shì bù.
"刚才" is often used to describe recent events, such as in conversations asking someone if they did something recently.
5 examples
妈妈刚才煮了面条。
mā ma gāng cái zhǔ le miàn tiáo。
Mom just now cooked noodles.
我刚才没听见。
wǒ gāng cái méi tīng jiàn。
I didn't hear it just now.
你刚才去哪里了？
nǐ gāng cái qù nǎ lǐ le？
Where did you go just now?
他刚才打电话给我。
tā gāng cái dǎ diàn huà gěi wǒ。
He called me just now.
我刚才吃了点水果。
wǒ gāng cái chī le diǎn shuǐ guǒ。
I just now ate some fruit.
5 mini stories
小明妈妈说，她刚才做了晚饭。爸爸问：你刚才做什么了？
xiǎo míng mā ma shuō， tā gāng cái zuò le wǎn fàn。 bà ba wèn： nǐ gāng cái zuò shén me le？
Ming's mom said she just now cooked dinner. Dad asked: What did you do just now?
老师说，刚才的课上讲了一个有趣的故事。同学们问：刚才讲的是什么故事？
lǎo shī shuō， gāng cái de kè shàng jiǎng le yí gè yǒu qù de gù shì。 tóng xué men wèn： gāng cái jiǎng de shì shén me gù shì？
The teacher said they talked about an interesting story in class just now. The students asked: What was the story just now?
妈妈说，她刚才去超市了。爸爸问：你刚才买什么东西了？
mā mā shuō， tā gāng cái qù chāo shì le。 bà ba wèn： nǐ gāng cái mǎi shén me dōng xī le？
Mom said she went to the supermarket just now. Dad asked: What did you buy just now?
朋友说，他刚才去了公园。我们问：你们刚才玩得怎么样？
péng yǒu shuō， tā gāng cái qù le gōng yuán。 wǒ men wèn： nǐ men gāng cái wán dé zěn me yàng？
A friend said he just now went to the park. We asked: How was your playtime just now?
姐姐说，她刚才看了一场电影。妹妹问：你刚才看了什么电影？
jiě jie shuō， tā gāng cái kàn le yì chǎng diàn yǐng。 mèi mei wèn： nǐ gāng cái kàn le shén me diàn yǐng？
Sister said she just now watched a movie. Sister asked: What did you watch just now?