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guardian_learning2023-01-29 01:41 pm
tinny) wrote in guardian_learning2023-01-29 01:41 pm
才 vs. 就
By popular request, I typed up the exercise sheets from last year's Chinese course on the topic of 才vs. 就. This will probably not lessen the confusion, I'm sorry to say. Those two are hard nuts to crack. I hope it'll at least be a little helpful, anyway.
1) Emphasizes that an action takes/took place „later than expected“. The opposite of 就.
他晚上十二点才睡觉，早上五点就起床了。
2) An action that took place „just now/only now“ - in that case can be replaced with 刚.
他才上课。/ 他刚上课。
3) Denotes the second one in a sequence of two actions, meaning „only then/and then“.
老师来了，教室里才开始安静。
1) Emphasizes that an action takes place „immediately“. In this case it means the same as 马上 and is the opposite of 才.
他一到家就看电视。/ 他一到家马上看电视。
2) Means „just/only“, denoting the (low) number of something. It means the same as 只 or 仅.
妹妹就认识这一百个汉字。/ 妹妹只认识这一百个汉字。/ 妹妹仅认识这一百个汉字。
3) Emphasizes that an action is taking/took place „already/earlier than expected“. In this case it means the same as 已经 and is the opposite of 才.
八点上课，他七点就来了。/ 八点上课，他七点已经来了。
4) It can also mean „really“, affirming something that was brought up before.
他想买的就是这种词典。
5) It can be used to express a „wish“ or „intention“ (also meaning something like „really“).
我就不相信我今天做不完这份功课。
6) It can be used in a conditional sense, meaning „then“.
哥哥去我就去。/ 如果哥哥去我就去。
Note that when there’s a time given, 就 will use 了, but 才 won’t.
Examples:
他现在才吃饭。 他昨天八点才吃饭。
1. 不到八点，你 _____ 要睡觉了。
2. 他来这个地方的时候，_____ 十九岁。
3. 你想吃什么， 我 _____ 给你做什么。
4. 他每次一想到能去上课，_____ 很高兴。
5. 我们公司的李小姐 _____ 到北京两天。
6. 都已经十点了，你怎么 _____ 来上课
7. 他教孩子学汉语的时候，孩子 _____ 两岁多。
8. 在外面工作了，_____ 知道在家好。
9. 他晚上十一点 _____ 回家。他妻子已经睡觉了。
10. 酒喝完了，你 _____ 知道，这个酒好不好。
11. 他太累了，晚上八点 _____ 睡觉了。
12. 去年比较冷，德国十月 _____ 下雪了。
13. 他四十岁 _____ 学会开车。
14. 他先工作了几年，三十五岁 _____ 上大学。
15. 李老师早上五点半 _____ 去公园运动。
16. 他很少回国，两三年 ______ 回去一次。
17. 他经常一年 ______ 回去两三次。
18. 她九岁 ______ 上学。
19. 她五岁 ______ 上学了。
20. 昨天她十点 ______ 起床。
21. 我等了半天车 ______ 来。
22. Bill来中国以前 ______ 学汉语了。
23. 她吃了两片药感冒 ______ 好了。
24. 他早 ______ 下班了。
25. Bob ______ 来上海半年，中文 ______ 已经说得不错了。
I'll post the correct answers in a comment.
eta: i found ten more... :)
才 vs. 就
才 only (re: time), only now, only then
1) Emphasizes that an action takes/took place „later than expected“. The opposite of 就.
他晚上十二点才睡觉，早上五点就起床了。
2) An action that took place „just now/only now“ - in that case can be replaced with 刚.
他才上课。/ 他刚上课。
3) Denotes the second one in a sequence of two actions, meaning „only then/and then“.
老师来了，教室里才开始安静。
就 right now, already, just (re: numbers), really, then
1) Emphasizes that an action takes place „immediately“. In this case it means the same as 马上 and is the opposite of 才.
他一到家就看电视。/ 他一到家马上看电视。
2) Means „just/only“, denoting the (low) number of something. It means the same as 只 or 仅.
妹妹就认识这一百个汉字。/ 妹妹只认识这一百个汉字。/ 妹妹仅认识这一百个汉字。
3) Emphasizes that an action is taking/took place „already/earlier than expected“. In this case it means the same as 已经 and is the opposite of 才.
八点上课，他七点就来了。/ 八点上课，他七点已经来了。
4) It can also mean „really“, affirming something that was brought up before.
他想买的就是这种词典。
5) It can be used to express a „wish“ or „intention“ (also meaning something like „really“).
我就不相信我今天做不完这份功课。
6) It can be used in a conditional sense, meaning „then“.
哥哥去我就去。/ 如果哥哥去我就去。
Note that when there’s a time given, 就 will use 了, but 才 won’t.
Examples:
他现在才吃饭。 他昨天八点才吃饭。
Exercises for 才 vs. 就
Fill with 才 or 就 :
1. 不到八点，你 _____ 要睡觉了。
2. 他来这个地方的时候，_____ 十九岁。
3. 你想吃什么， 我 _____ 给你做什么。
4. 他每次一想到能去上课，_____ 很高兴。
5. 我们公司的李小姐 _____ 到北京两天。
6. 都已经十点了，你怎么 _____ 来上课
7. 他教孩子学汉语的时候，孩子 _____ 两岁多。
8. 在外面工作了，_____ 知道在家好。
9. 他晚上十一点 _____ 回家。他妻子已经睡觉了。
10. 酒喝完了，你 _____ 知道，这个酒好不好。
11. 他太累了，晚上八点 _____ 睡觉了。
12. 去年比较冷，德国十月 _____ 下雪了。
13. 他四十岁 _____ 学会开车。
14. 他先工作了几年，三十五岁 _____ 上大学。
15. 李老师早上五点半 _____ 去公园运动。
16. 他很少回国，两三年 ______ 回去一次。
17. 他经常一年 ______ 回去两三次。
18. 她九岁 ______ 上学。
19. 她五岁 ______ 上学了。
20. 昨天她十点 ______ 起床。
21. 我等了半天车 ______ 来。
22. Bill来中国以前 ______ 学汉语了。
23. 她吃了两片药感冒 ______ 好了。
24. 他早 ______ 下班了。
25. Bob ______ 来上海半年，中文 ______ 已经说得不错了。
I'll post the correct answers in a comment.
eta: i found ten more... :)
no subject
[should be 16] – definitely 才 given the hint of the first half of the sentence; 两三年回去一次 = "goes back once every 2-3 years", and 才 adds the nuance of "only".
I kind of see what you mean here, since once every several years would be considered seldom in most circumstances, I guess -- but I'm still not sure why it's the same in #17, where the numbers are reversed. In #17, rather than once every 2-3 years, it's 2-3 times per year ("他经常一年___回去两三次"). If 才 is the best answer here too, then I think there must be something I'm not getting about the grammar of the sentence that makes 就 obviously wrong, because just from the context of "2-3 times per year," it seems impossible to know if that's surprisingly seldom ("he usually only goes back a few times a year") or surprisingly often ("he usually goes back a few times every year").
I'd almost definitely add the 了 with 就
Aha. I feel like I'm going to have to actually start learning Mandarin properly before I'm ever going to get the hang of 了...
no subject
Yeah, immediacy is one way of putting it – more generally (and without consulting any actual formal sources) I'd say 就 inherently puts an emphasis on the subsequent bit, which in the context of it coming after time-based words that tends to read as immediacy? 我现在就去。 And this goes for both actual-past and hypothetical situations: 那个花瓶不太稳，看起来一碰就会倒下。/ 刚碰就倒下了。
Other kinds of non-immediacy emphasis would be as in 那就这样吧 (could imply "since we can't have it another way/this is our current best option") 我就要这个 (and no other). Contrast the vibes of 人的年纪越大，越看得开 vs 人的年纪越大，就越看的开 – in my head it feels like the same kind of emphasis going on with the time-就 sentences in the practice. (Canto 就 feels pretty similar from what I've seen so far?)
And oh I hadn't noticed 17 was different haha, but yeah I also don't see anything that would stop both from being admissible answers, just with opposite meanings…
no subject
Got it, that all makes sense. And yeah, as far as I know, 就 in Canto is the same as in Mandarin -- I think I've just been missing some of the nuance of immediacy! At least in certain cases with time-based words, as you say. I did always understand it that way when it came with 一, like in your example "看起来一碰就会倒下." So I probably just need to think of it as having that meaning more of the time, not just when there's actually a 一 in front of it...
no subject
no subject
Hah, and meanwhile I remain extremely confused by 了, so I still don't really know what the deal is there. XD
This might not be helpful at all, but to me it seems like there are only two meanings of 才: "only then" and "just now." To me at least, "only then" already implies that something is "later than expected," so I don't see that as a separate meaning. Basically, I think of "[X] 才 [Y]" as "only when [X] then (finally) [Y]." So for instance, you have these listed under separate rules, but they can be translated in almost the same way:
他晚上十二点才睡觉
I think of this as "Only at midnight did he (finally) get to sleep."
老师来了，教室里才开始安静。
I think of this as "Only when the teacher arrived did the class become calm."
A couple more examples from the question set:
在外面工作了， [才] 知道在家好。
Only after you've worked outside will you know it's good to be home.
他很少回国，两三年 [才] 回去一次。
Only once every two or three years does he go back to China.
And I think for the other meaning, "just now," 才 usually does really translate pretty straightforwardly to "just" (or "just now," or "just then" if the context is in the past).
他才上课。
He just (now) went to class.
他来这个地方的时候，[才] 十九岁。
When he came to this place, he was just nineteen.
Bob [才] 来上海半年
Bob just came to Shanghai half a year ago.
Though I have to say I still find it a little confusing that Mandarin uses a single word for both "only then" and "just now," since I'm used to these being separate things!