才 (cái) · only then, not until, just

Meanings

1 only then
2 not until
3 just
4 talent

Characters

才

cái

talent; only then; just now

Pictograph of a sprout just breaking through soil - something barely emerging, hence 'only just'

Examples

HSK 1

他十点才来。

Tā shí diǎn cái lái.

He didn't come until 10 o'clock.

HSK 1

我才知道。

Wǒ cái zhīdào.

I just found out.

HSK 1

他才五岁。

Tā cái wǔ suì.

He's only five years old.

Tips

grammar

才 implies later than expected or less than expected.

mistakes

才 vs 就: 才 = later/less than expected. 就 = sooner/more than expected.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand radical (left-side form of 手)

The full three-stroke silhouette overlaps the 扌 hand radical, which is why xinhua files 才 there. Strict etymology shows a young sprout breaking soil; the modern silhouette has converged on the 扌 hand pattern and inherits its position-radical role.