ChineseGrammarWiki/MD/B1/Expressinglatenesswith_cai_-ChineseGrammarWiki.html.mw

<div id="top_page" class="navbar navbar-static-top accounts noprint">

<div class="navbar-inner">

<div class="container">

<div class="span12">

<div class="row-fluid">

<div class="span3" style="margin-left: -15pt;">

[http://www.allsetlearning.com/ [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/logo-40x195.png]]]

</div>
[[|<span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span> <span class="icon-bar"></span>]]
<div class="nav-collapse account-collapse collapse">

<ul>
<li>[https://store.allsetlearning.com/ Store]</li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/ Resources'''''']
<div class="newbadge">

NEW

</div>
<ul>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/ Chinese Study Resources]
<div class="newbadge">

NEW

</div></li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar Chinese Grammar Wiki]</li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation Chinese Pronunciation Wiki]</li></ul>
</li></ul>

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Expressing+lateness+with+%22cai%22 '''' Log in]


</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>
<div id="page-header" class="container signed-out">

<div class="section span12">




</div>

</div>
<div id="content" class="section mw-body container 0">

<div id="top">



</div>
<div id="mw-js-message" style="display:none;">



</div>
<div id="bodyContent">

<div id="jump-to-nav" class="mw-jump">

Jump to: [[#mw-head|navigation]], [[#p-search|search]]

</div>
<div id="gg-top" class="gg">

[http://amzn.to/2iioVRP [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/CGW-print-250_60.jpg]]]

</div>
<div class="row-fluid wikititle">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/Wiki-title.png|class=wikititle-spacer]]]

</div>
<div class="row-fluid noprint">

<div class="span2">



</div>
<div id="menu-tabs" class="span10 tabs">

<ul>
<li></li>
<li><div id="ca-view">



</div>
<span>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22 View]</span></li>
<li><div id="ca-viewsource">



</div>
<span>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22&action=edit View source]</span></li>
<li><div id="ca-history">



</div>
<span>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22&action=history History]</span></li>
<li></li></ul>


</div>

</div>
<div class="row-fluid">

<div id="mw-panel" class="span2 noprint">

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Main_Page Main Page]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Learner_FAQ Learner FAQ]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Grammar_points_by_level Grammar Points]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Keywords Chinese Keywords]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Translations Word Translations]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_textbook_grammar_index Textbook Index]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Forums Chinese Forums]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Acknowledgments Acknowledgments]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Contact Contact Us]

[[|]]
<div class="sidebar-caret arrow-down">



</div>
Useful Pages
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Tools Reading Tools]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:RecentChanges Recent changes]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Random Random page]
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Help:Contents Help]
* [http://resources.allsetlearning.com/ Newsletter]

<ul>
<li>[[|]]
<div class="sidebar-caret arrow-down">



</div>
Tools
<ul>
<li><div id="t-whatlinkshere">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:WhatLinksHere/Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22 What links here]</li>
<li><div id="t-recentchangeslinked">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22 Related changes]</li>
<li><div id="t-specialpages">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:SpecialPages Special pages]</li>
<li><div id="t-print">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22&printable=yes Printable version]</li>
<li><div id="t-permalink">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22&oldid=42044 Permanent link]</li>
<li><div id="t-info">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22&action=info Page information]</li></ul>
</li></ul>

<div id="gg-mid" class="gg">

[http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1286538933 [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/CGW-iBooks-150_150.jpg]]]

</div>

</div>
<div class="span10">

<div id="innerbodycontent" class="row nolayout">

<div class="offset1 span10">

<div id="sm-cog-elements" class="noprint">



</div>
<div class="allset-page-heading">

[[#|[[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/cog.png]]]]
<div id="settings-menu" class="dropdown dropdown-anchor-right noprint">

<ul>
<li>=== Sample Sentence Options ===
</li>
<li>Spaces</li>
<li> Hide spaces between Chinese words</li>
<li>Pinyin</li>
<li> Hide pinyin</li>
<li>Translations</li>
<li> Hide translations</li></ul>


</div>
= Expressing lateness with &quot;cai&quot; =


</div>
<div id="contentSub">



</div>
<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr" lang="en">

<div id="ibox" class="toc">

<div class="ibox-link">

<span class="plainlinks">[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ASG3WTCJ [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/link.png]]]</span>

</div>
<ul>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Level

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

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

</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Similar to

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

<ul>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_earliness_with_%22jiu%22 Expressing earliness with &quot;jiu&quot;] (B1)</li>
<li>[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22cai%22_and_%22jiu%22 Comparing &quot;cai&quot; and &quot;jiu&quot;] (B2)</li></ul>


</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Used for

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

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

</div></li>
<li><div class="ibox-label">

Keywords

</div>
<div class="ibox-info">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E6%89%8D 才]

</div></li></ul>

<div class="ibox-image">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/File:Chinese-grammar-wiki-Cai.jpg [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/300px-Chinese-grammar-wiki-Cai.jpg|300x300px|Chinese-grammar-wiki-Cai.jpg]]]

</div>

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

<div id="toc" class="toc">

<div id="toctitle">

== Contents ==

<span class="toctoggle"> [[[#|hide]]] </span>

</div>
* [[#Structure|<span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Structure</span>]]
* [[#Examples|<span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span>]]
* [[#See_also|<span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span>]]
* [[#Sources_and_further_reading|<span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Sources and further reading</span>]]
** [[#Books|<span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Books</span>]]


</div>
== <span id="Structure" class="mw-headline">Structure</span> ==

<div class="jiegou">

Subj. + Time + 才 + Verb


</div>
== <span id="Examples" class="mw-headline">Examples</span> ==

<div class="liju">

* 我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 ''才'' 到 家 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn ''cái'' dào jiā.</span><span class="trans">I didn't arrive at home until eleven o'clock last night.</span>
* 他 二十 五 岁 ''才'' 上 大学 。<span class="pinyin">Tā èrshí-wǔ suì ''cái'' shàng dàxué.</span><span class="trans">He didn't go to college until he was 25.</span>
* 她 四十 岁 ''才'' 结婚 。<span class="pinyin">Tā sìshí suì ''cái'' jiéhūn.</span><span class="trans">She didn't get married until she was forty.</span>
* 我 女儿 昨天 十二 点 ''才'' 睡觉 ，作业 太 多 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ nǚ'ér zuótiān shí'èr diǎn ''cái'' shuìjiào, zuòyè tài duō le.</span><span class="trans">My daughter didn't go to bed until 12 o'clock yesterday. Too much homework.</span>
* 你 九 点 上班 ，八 点 半 ''才'' 起床 ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ jiǔ diǎn shàngbān, bā diǎn bàn ''cái'' qǐchuáng?</span><span class="trans">You get up at 8:30 when you need to show up at work at nine?</span>
* 飞机 刚刚 ''才'' 起飞 ，晚点 了 两 个 小时 。<span class="pinyin">Fēijī gānggāng ''cái'' qǐfēi, wǎndiǎn le liǎng gè xiǎoshí.</span><span class="trans">The flight just took off. It was delayed for two hours.</span>
* 电影 七 点 半 开始 ，可是 因为 堵车 ，我们 八 点 ''才'' 到 。<span class="pinyin">Diànyǐng qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ, kěshì yīnwèi dǔchē, wǒmen bā diǎn ''cái'' dào.</span><span class="trans">The movie began at 7:30, but we didn't arrive until eight because of traffic.</span>


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

<div class="liju">

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


</div>
Note that verbs following 才 should not take 了.

<div class="liju">

* 我 昨天 晚上 十一 点 ''才'' 到 家 '''了''' 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang shíyī diǎn ''cái'' dào jiā '''le'''.</span>
* 她 四十 岁 ''才'' 结婚 '''了''' 。<span class="pinyin">Tā sìshí suì ''cái'' jiéhūn '''le'''.</span>


</div>
== <span id="See_also" class="mw-headline">See also</span> ==

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_earliness_with_%22jiu%22 Expressing earliness with &quot;jiu&quot;]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Using_%22cai%22_for_small_numbers Using &quot;cai&quot; for small numbers]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22cai%22_and_%22jiu%22 Comparing &quot;cai&quot; and &quot;jiu&quot;]

== <span id="Sources_and_further_reading" class="mw-headline">Sources and further reading</span> ==

=== <span id="Books" class="mw-headline">Books</span> ===

* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar] (pp. 117-8) [http://amzn.to/2ykU1OD →buy]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed) Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)] (pp. 139) [http://amzn.to/2xe9H5W →buy]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8A%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册）] (pp. 239) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 →buy]

<div style="display:none;">




</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>
<div style="display:none;">



</div>

</div>
<div id="catlinks" class="catlinks">

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks">

[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Categories Categories]:
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Category:B1_grammar_points B1 grammar points]
* [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Category:Adverbs Adverbs]


</div>

</div>
<div id="gg-bot" class="gg">

[http://amzn.to/2iioVRP [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/CGW-print-500_120.jpg]]]

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>
<div class="printfooter">

Retrieved from &quot;https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_lateness_with_%22cai%22&oldid=42044&quot;

</div>
<div class="visualClear">



</div>

</div>

</div>
<div id="footer" class="footer container custom-footer">

<div class="row-fluid">

<div class="span2">



</div>
<div class="span10">

不允许任何以商业为目的或不注明归属 Chinese Grammar Wiki ©2011-2018 AllSet Learning 的内容引用。关于合法使用此内容的更多信息，请参阅我们的[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki:Copyrights 知识共享权限条款（Creative Commons license）]。

All content on the Chinese Grammar Wiki ©2011-2018 AllSet Learning, and may not be used for commercial purposes or without attribution. For more information on how to legally use this content, please see our [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki:Copyrights Creative Commons license] unless otherwise noted.


</div>

</div>

</div>
<div id="footer" class="footer container">

<div class="row">

<ul>
<li><div id="footer-places-privacy">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_Grammar_Wiki:Privacy_policy Privacy policy]</li>
<li><div id="footer-places-about">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_Grammar_Wiki:About About Chinese Grammar Wiki]</li>
<li><div id="footer-places-disclaimer">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese_Grammar_Wiki:General_disclaimer Disclaimers]</li>
<li><div id="pt-login">



</div>
[https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Expressing+lateness+with+%22cai%22 Log in]</li></ul>

<ul>
<li><div id="footer-poweredbyico">



</div>
[https://www.mediawiki.org/ [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png|88x31px|Powered by MediaWiki]]] [http://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Semantic_MediaWiki [[File:Expressing%20lateness%20with%20%22cai%22%20-%20Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki_fichiers/smw_button.png|88x31px|Powered by Semantic MediaWiki]]]</li></ul>


</div>

</div>
<div class="suggestions" style="display: none; font-size: 13px;">

<div class="suggestions-results">



</div>
<div class="suggestions-special">



</div>

</div>