Comparing "gang" and "gangcai"

刚 (gāng) and 刚才 (gāngcái) are similar, but they differ on a few key uses.

Contents

刚 as "Just happened"

刚 is actually an adverb, and it is placed in front of the verb. It emphasizes that the action just happened a short time ago. It is similar to the English "just." 刚刚 and 刚 are interchangeable in this case.

The key here is that a short time ago is relative and determined by the speaker. For this reason, 刚 can indicate that something "just" happened 1 second ago, 5 minutes ago, 2 hours ago, 3 weeks ago, or even a year ago. The absolute time is flexible, but from the speaker's perspective, it feels recent.

刚 before An Verb

A few examples:

It would be wrong to use 刚才 instead:

And if you mean to say "When I first arrived in Shanghai," use 刚 instead of 刚才:

刚 before An Adjective

刚, as an adverb, can also be placed in front of the verb, while 刚才 can't be used this way.

A few examples:

刚才 as "Just Now"

刚才 is a time noun (like 今天 and 现在), and it expresses that the time that has passed is really short, in near-absolute terms. We're talking no more than 1-30 minutes, in most situations. If it is placed before the verb, it emphasizes what happened in the time that has just passed. It is similar to the English "just now."

A few examples:

刚才, as a time noun, can directly modify a noun to indicate it is that one from "just now" or "just before," while 刚 can't be used this way.

刚 and 刚才 with 了

You may have noticed that something interesting is going on with regards to 了 in the sentences with 刚 and 刚才. Namely, 了 is not usually required in sentences with 刚, but it is usually required in sentences with 刚才. This is because 刚才 refers to a time in the recent past, and you're usually indicated that something happened just now (started and finished).

Take these sentences for example:

So these are all simple time "subject + verb" sentences. Notice that when they refer to the past (including the one with 刚才), the action is completed and you need 了. You don't need 了 for things that haven't happened yet (they're just plans, and nothing is completed). And remember that 刚才 always refers to the past.

OK, now what about 刚? Why does it not need 了?

The key is that you don't need a 了 in a sentence with 刚 if the verb indicates a clear result. So, to use the 看 example from above:

A few more examples:

OK, so there's also something going on with 没 in sentences with 刚 and 刚才. The deal here is that you can say something didn't happen just now (刚才), but you can't say that something just didn't happen (刚). [Saying that something "just didn't happen" only works in English if you interpret "just" to mean "simply."]

The takeaway? Just don't use 刚 in sentences where you use 没 to negate the past.

Use 没 with 刚才 to negate the past.

Example Dialog

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries