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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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  <h1></h1>

  <p>One of the ways to express lateness in Chinese is with <span class="hanzi">才</span> (<span class="pinyin">cái</span>).</p>

  <h2>Contents</h2>

  <ol>
    <li>Structure<br/></li>

    <li>Examples<br/></li>

    <li>See also<br/></li>

    <li>Sources and further reading<br/></li>

    <ol>
      <li>Books<br/></li>
    </ol>
  </ol>

  <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>

  <p>To express that something happened later than expected, you can use <span class="hanzi">才</span>.</p>

  <div>
    <div class="deux">
      Subj. + Time Word + <span class="hanzist">才</span> + Verb-Obj.
    </div>
  </div>

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

  <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 昨天 十 点 才 下班 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān shí diǎn cái xiàbān.</span><br/><span> I got off work at ten o'clock yesterday.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 二十 五 岁 才 上 大学 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Tā èrshí-wǔ suì cái shàng dàxué.</span><br/><span> He didn't go to college until he was 25.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 老板 四十 多 岁 才 结婚 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ lǎobǎn sìshí duō suì cái jiéhūn.</span><br/><span> My boss didn't get married until he was forty.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 九点 上班 ，八 点 半 才 起床 ？</span> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng?</span><br/><span> You get up at 8:30 while you need to show up at work at nine?</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我们 十点 上课，老师 十 点 半 才 来 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen shí diǎn shàngkè, lǎoshī shí diǎn bàn cái lái.</span><br/><span> We have class at 10 o'clock and the teacher didn't come until half past ten.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 女儿 每天 晚上 都 十二 点 才 睡觉 ，作业 太 多 了 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Wǒ nǚ'ér měi tiān wǎnshang dōu shí'èr diǎn cái shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le.</span><br/><span> My daughter goes to bed at 12 o'clock every day. She has too much homework.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">你 怎么 才 来 ？我 等 了 你 半 个 多 小时 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒ děng le nǐ bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.</span><br/><span> How come you just came? I've waited for you more than half an hour.</span></li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我们 找 了 一 个 多 小时 才 找到 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zhǎo le yī gè duō xiǎoshí cái zhǎodào.</span><br/><span> It took us more than an hour to find it.</span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>Note that verbs following <span class="hanzi">才</span> cannot take <span class="hanzi">了</span>, as the action does not have the sense of being completed. So, in the above situation, it is wrong to say:</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><strike>昨天 晚上 我的 女儿 一点半 才 回家 了 。</strike></span><span class="pinyin"><strike>Zuótiān wǎnshang wǒ de nǚ'ér yīdiǎn bàn cái huíjiā le.</strike></span></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="Expressing_earliness_with_&quot;jiu&quot;" title="wikilink">Expressing earliness with "jiu"</a></li>

    <li><a href="Comparing_&quot;cai&quot;_and_&quot;jiu&quot;" title="wikilink">Comparing "cai" and "jiu"</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 117-8)</li>

    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 139)</li>

    <li>40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (<span class="hanzi">基础汉语40课上册</span>） (p. 239)</li>
  </ul>

  <h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>East Asia Student: <a href="http://eastasiastudent.net/2619/china/mandarin/cmn-grammar/jiu-cai-early-as-not-until/"> 就 and 才 in Mandarin: as early as, not until</a></li>
  </ul>
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