Chinese grammar: Comparing 才cai and 就jiu
Both 才 (cái) and 就 (jiù) are adverbs that have to do with expressing time, and they are both placed in front of the verb. However, they both have a different tone and feel, and they express different lengths of time.
才
才 expresses that the speaker thinks that the the time that passed since the action takes place was a long time. Sometimes it expresses anxiety, impatience, anger etc.
Structure
Examples
他 迟到 了 半 个 小时 才 来。
就
就 expresses that the speaker thinks that the time since the action happened is short, and it has a surprise, unexpectedness, or even sometimes regret.
Structure
Examples
你们 这么 早 就 下班 了?
就 is used to express earliness
就 indicates that something has occurred earlier than expected
Structure
Examples
他 下午 四点 就 吃 晚饭。
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