In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until." This form is often used with a time number of some sort, like a specific time, age etc.

Examples

我昨天十点才下班。 Wǒ zuótiān shí diǎn cái xiàbān.
I got off work at ten o'clock yesterday.
他二十五岁才上大学。 Tā èrshí-wǔ suì cái shàng dàxué.
He didn't go to college until he was 25.
我老板四十多岁才结婚。 Wǒ lǎobǎn sìshí duō suì cái jiéhūn.
My boss didn't get married until he was forty.
你九点上班，八点半才起床？ Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng?
You get up at 8:30 while you need to show up at work at nine?
我们十点上课，老师十点半才来。 Wǒmen shí diǎn shàngkè, lǎoshī shí diǎn bàn cái lái.
We have class at 10 o'clock and the teacher didn't come until half past ten.
我女儿每天晚上都十二点才睡觉，作业太多了。 Wǒ nǚ'ér měi tiān wǎnshang dōu shí'èr diǎn cái shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le.
My daughter goes to bed at 12 o'clock every day. She has too much homework.
你怎么才来？我等了你半个多小时。 Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒ děng le nǐ bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.
How come you just came? I've waited for you more than half an hour.
我们找了一个多小时才找到。 Wǒmen zhǎo le yī gè duō xiǎoshí cái zhǎodào.
It took us more than an hour to find it.

Note that verbs following 才 cannot take 了, as the action does not have the sense of being completed. So, in the above situation, it is wrong to say:

Contents

Structure

Examples

See also

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