When it happens in Chinese 时间词
shíjiān cí
Just now, soon, or at last? 15 essential when it happens words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 刚才 | gāng cái | just now |
| 刚 | gāng | just (a moment ago) |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now |
| 以前 | yǐ qián | before; in the past |
| 以后 | yǐ hòu | after; in the future |
| 后来 | hòu lái | later; afterwards |
| 最近 | zuì jìn | recently |
| 马上 | mǎ shàng | right away |
| 一会儿 | yī huìr | a moment; in a bit |
| 正在 | zhèng zài | in the middle of (doing) |
| 快要 | kuài yào | about to |
| 终于 | zhōng yú | finally |
| 突然 | tū rán | suddenly |
| 早就 | zǎo jiù | long ago; for ages |
| 最后 | zuì hòu | in the end; last |
Example sentences
- 你刚才去哪儿了？Where did you go just now?
- 我刚到家。I've just got home.
- 现在几点？What time is it now?
- 我以前住在伦敦。I used to live in London.
- 以后我想去中国工作。In the future I want to work in China.
- 后来我们成了好朋友。Later we became good friends.
- 你最近怎么样？How have you been lately?
- 我马上就来。I'm coming right away.
- 一会儿见！See you in a bit!
- 我正在开会。I'm in a meeting right now.
- 快要下雨了。It's about to rain.
- 我终于找到工作了！I've finally found a job!
- 突然下起了大雨。Suddenly it started pouring.
- 这件事我早就知道了。I've known about this for ages.
- 最后我们决定坐火车。In the end we decided to take the train.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The When it happens speaking island has 8 everyday questions about when it happens to prepare your own answers to.