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Level

[B1](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/B1_grammar_points)

Similar to

- [Complement with "dao"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Complement_with_%22dao%22) (B1) - [Expressing "when" with "dengdao"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22when%22_with_%22dengdao%22) (B1)

Used for

[Sequencing events in time](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Sequencing_events_in_time), [Expressing attitude](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_attitude)

Keywords

[直到](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E7%9B%B4%E5%88%B0), [到](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E5%88%B0)

Translations

[until](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Until), [by the time](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/By_the_time)

[![Chinese-grammar-wiki-dao.jpg](Expressing%20%22all%20the%20way%20until%22%20with%20%22zhidao%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/300px-Chinese-grammar-wiki-dao.jpg "fig:Chinese-grammar-wiki-dao.jpg"){width="300" height="300"}](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/File:Chinese-grammar-wiki-dao.jpg)

直到 (zhídào) can only be used to describe the past, acting like the English word "all the way until." It can be used in an affirmative or negative form, expressing that something has taken a while or is late.

Contents -------- [hide]([# "wikilink")\]

- [1 Affirmative Form](#Affirmative_Form "wikilink") - [1.1 Structure](#Structure "wikilink") - [1.2 Examples](#Examples "wikilink") - [2 Negative Form](#Negative_Form "wikilink") - [2.1 Structure](#Structure_2 "wikilink") - [2.2 Examples](#Examples_2 "wikilink") - [3 See also](#See_also "wikilink") - [4 Sources and further reading](#Sources_and_further_reading "wikilink") - [4.1 Books](#Books "wikilink")

Affirmative Form ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ### Structure

直到 + Time / Event ，Subj. + 才 ⋯⋯

This subject can also be place before 直到. ### Examples

- *直到* 十二点半，我 **才** 做完作业。*Zhídào* shí'èr diǎn bàn, wǒ **cái** zuò wán zuòyè.It wasn't until twelve thirty in the morning that I finished homework. - *直到* 半个月以后，我的感冒 **才** 好。*Zhídào* bàn gè yuè yǐhòu, wǒ de gǎnmào **cái** hǎo.It took me half a month to recover from the cold. - 她 *直到* 十八岁 **才** 见到亲生父母。Tā *zhídào* shíbā suì **cái** jiàndào qīnshēng fùmǔ.It wasn't until she was eighteen that she met her biological parents. - 我 *直到* 大学毕业 **才** 开始独立生活。Wǒ *zhídào* dàxué bìyè **cái** kāishǐ dúlì shēnghuó.It wasn't until I graduated from college that I started living independently. - *直到* 去了北京，他 **才** 知道一个人在大城市多辛苦。*Zhídào* qù le Běijīng, tā **cái** zhīdào yīgèrén zài dà chéngshì duō xīnkǔ.It wasn't until he went to Beijing that he understood how hard it is to be alone in a big city.

Negative Form ----------------------------------------------------------------- ### Structure

直到 + Time / Event ，Subj. + 都 + 不 / 没 ⋯⋯

### Examples

- *直到* 他死，我们 **都没** 见过。*Zhídào* tā sǐ, wǒmen **dōu méi** jiàn guo.We didn't meet until he passed away. - 他们是同学，但是 *直到* 毕业，**都没** 说过话。Tāmen shì tóngxué, dànshì *zhídào* bìyè, **dōu méi** shuō guo huà.They are classmates. But they had never spoken until they graduated. - *直到* 电影结束，他 **都没** 来。*Zhídào* diànyǐng jiéshù, tā **dōu méi** lái.He didn't show up until the movie was over. - *直到* 我弟弟上大学，他 **都不** 会洗衣服。*Zhídào* wǒ dìdi shàng dàxué, tā **dōu bù** huì xǐ yīfu.My younger brother couldn't wash clothes until he went to college. - 我认识他一年多了，*直到* 现在，我 **都不** 知道他的全名。Wǒ rènshi tā yī nián duō le, *zhídào* xiànzài, wǒ **dōu bù** zhīdào tā de quánmíng.I've known him for over a year, but I still don't know his full name.

See also ------------------------------------------------------- - [Expressing "when" with "dengdao"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22when%22_with_%22dengdao%22) - [Complement with "dao"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Complement_with_%22dao%22) Sources and further reading --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### Books

[Category](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Categories): - [B1 grammar points](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Category:B1_grammar_points)

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