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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<h1>Expressing lateness with "cai"
</h1>

<p>To express that something happened later than expected, you can use 才 (cái). In English this might be expressed with "as late as" or "not until." This form is often used with a time of some sort, like a specific time of day, age, etc.
</p>
<h2>Contents</h2>

<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span><br/></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span><br/></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 See also </span><br/></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 Sources and further reading </span><br/></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4.1 Books</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>Structure</h3>

<div class="deux">Subj. + Time + 才 + Verb</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 。
Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā.
I didn't arrive at home until eleven o'clock last night. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 四十 岁 才 结婚 。
Tā sìshí suì cái jiéhūn.
She didn't get married until she was forty. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 女儿 昨天 十二 点 才 睡觉 ，作业 太 多 了 。
Wǒ nǚ'ér zuótiān shí'èr diǎn cái shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le.
My daughter didn't go to bed until 12 o'clock yesterday. Too much homework.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 九 点 上班 ，八 </span><span style="font-size: 20px;">点 半 才 起床 ？
Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn cái qǐchuáng?
You get up at 8:30 when you need to show up at work at nine? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">飞机 刚刚 才 起飞 ，晚点 了 两 个 小时 。
Fēijī gānggāng cái qǐfēi, wǎndiǎn le liǎng gè xiǎoshí.
The flight just took off. It was delayed for two hours. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">电影 七 点 半 开始 ，可是 因为 堵车 ，我们 八 点 才 到 。
Diànyǐng qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ, kěshì yīnwèi dǔchē, wǒmen bā diǎn cái dào.
The movie began at 7:30, but we didn't arrive until eight because of traffic.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>You can use 才 alone with the verb to indicate the lateness when the context is clear:</p>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 怎么 才 吃 晚饭 ？已经 十 点 了 。
Nǐ zěnme cái chī wǎnfàn? Yǐjīng shí diǎn le.
How come you are eating dinner now? It's 10 pm. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 怎么 才 来 ？我们 等 了 半 个 多 小时 。
Nǐ zěnme cái lái? Wǒmen děng le bàn gè duō xiǎoshí.
How come you came here so late? We've waited for more than half an hour.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>Note that verbs following 才 should not take 了.
</p>
<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 才 到 家 了 。
Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn cái dào jiā le. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 四十 岁 才 结婚 了 。
Tā sìshí suì cái jiéhūn le.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>See also</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Expressing earliness with "jiu"
Using "cai" for small numbers </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Comparing "cai" and "jiu" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Sources and further reading</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Books</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 117-8) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 139) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 239) →buy</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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