就 / 才 — 就 “as early as”, 才 “not until”
Pattern: time + 就 … 了 · time + 才 …
就 says it happened earlier or more easily than expected: 他七点就来了 “he came as early as seven”. 才 says later or harder: 他十点才来 “he didn’t come until ten”. Sentences with 才 usually have no 了.
Examples
| 1 | 他七点就来了。 tā qī diǎn jiù lái le He came as early as seven. |
| 2 | 他十点才来。 tā shí diǎn cái lái He didn’t come until ten. |
| 3 | 我说了三遍他才懂。 wǒ shuō le sān biàn tā cái dǒng I had to say it three times before he understood. |
| 4 | 一看就知道。 yí kàn jiù zhīdào You can tell at a glance. |
A common mistake
- ✕ Wrong:
他十点才来了。→ ✓ Right: 他十点才来。
Explanations and examples by Zitou. Pinyin added automatically and checked.