Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 刚 AND 刚刚
Learning how to use 刚 and 刚刚 is important as they are two indispensable expressions in Chinese that are used in many different ways.
They can be used as a time expression, to say something you’ve just done or to emphasize words, etc.
GENERAL USE OF 刚
刚 (gāng) is an adjective & 刚刚 (gānggāng) is an adverb. They are most often used to express something that has recently happened.
Even moreso when you want to indicate that an action has recently occurred. Think of how you would use “just” in English.
Imagine that you’re chatting with a Chinese friend when you can’t find the right word to say. You can probably explain to the person that:
“不好意思，我刚刚开始学中文”
OR “不好意思，我刚开始学中文”
bú hǎo yì sī，wǒ gāng (gāng) kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén.
Sorry, I just started to learn Chinese.
That’s exactly how you use the word 刚刚！Here are some more examples:
In these examples, “刚” and “刚刚” both can be used. They act as the same role in these sentences.
Moreover, you can see that those sentences are primarily written in the perfect tense in English accordingly. That is because “刚” and “刚刚” can be treated as the sign of perfect tense in Chinese too.
RELATIONS BETWEEN 刚 & 刚刚
In addition to the content stated above, you also need to know how to distinguish 刚 & 刚刚.
Although these two words can both express the similar meaning of “just now,” they have separate meanings in some specific circumstances.
刚 can only be used as an adverb.
PATTERN
Subject + 刚 + Verb
And we usually place it after the subject and before the verb. For example:
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 我刚写完作业。 | wǒ gāng xiě wán zuò yè | I just finished my homework. |
| 我刚面试完。 | wǒ gāng miàn shì wán | I just finished my interview. |
| 会议刚开始。 | huì yì gāng kāi shǐ | The meeting has just begun. |
While 刚刚 can be used as 刚, it can also be used as a time noun. When it comes to the time noun, we can place 刚刚 before or after the subject in a sentence.
PATTERN
刚刚 + Subject
PATTERN
Subject +刚刚
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 我刚刚去看电影了。 | wǒ gāng gāng qù kàn diàn yǐng le | I just went to the cinema. |
| 刚刚我去看电影了。 | gāng gāng wǒ qù kàn diàn yǐng le | I just went to the cinema. |
| 刚刚天气很不好。 | gāng gāng tiān qì hěn bú hǎo | The weather was bad just now. |
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FAQs
What is 刚?
刚 is an adjective and has many meanings, such as just, barely, exactly, strong.
What is 刚刚?
刚刚 is an adverb and means just recently, a moment ago.
How to pronounce 刚 and 刚刚?
刚 is pronounced gāng and 刚刚 is gānggāng.
How to use 刚 and 刚刚?
They are most often used to express that something has recently happened.
刚 and 刚刚 can be used similarly to “just” in English.
“不好意思，我刚刚开始学中文” OR “不好意思，我刚开始学中文”
bú hǎo yì sī，wǒ gāng gāng kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén
Sorry, I just started to learn Chinese.
What is the difference between 刚 and 刚刚?
刚 can only be used as an adverb: Subject + 刚 + Verb
我刚写完作业。wǒ gāng xiě wán zuò yè | I just finished my homework
While 刚刚 can be used as 刚, it can also be a time noun.
When it comes to the time noun, we can place 刚刚 before or after the subject in a sentence.
我刚刚去看电影了。wǒ gāng gāng qù kàn diàn yǐng le | I just went to the cinema.
Where to learn more Chinese grammar?
You can find more Chinese grammar lessons like this one in our Chinese Grammar Bank.
If our list doesn’t include the grammar point you are looking for, feel free to contact us to request it.