Expressing Interruption with 刚

In English, we say "I just ate." In Chinese, the structure is almost identical. You take your subject, drop 刚 in, and then add your verb. It is like a sandwich where 刚 is the secret sauce. It modifies the verb to show it happened moments ago. Unlike some other Chinese words, 刚 is very stable. It does not like to move around the sentence. It stays tucked between the person and the action. It functions as an adverb. This means its only job is to describe the verb. It does not care about the object or the rest of the sentence. It just wants to tell you *when* that verb happened.

1. 1Using 刚 is as easy as 1-2-3. Follow this simple recipe:
2. 2Start with your Subject (the person or thing doing the action).
3. 3Add the magic word 刚.
4. 4Add your Action Verb (what happened).
5. 5Optional: Add an Object (what the action was done to).
6. 6Pattern: Subject + 刚 + Verb + (Object)
7. 7Example: 我 (Subject) + 刚 (Just) + 到 (Arrive) = 我刚到 (I just arrived).
8. 8Example: 他 (Subject) + 刚 (Just) + 走 (Leave) = 他刚走 (He just left).

You will use 刚 in tons of real-world scenarios. Imagine you are at a coffee shop. You just sat down and your friend calls. You say, "I just arrived!" (我刚到). Or imagine you are in a job interview. You might say, "I just graduated" (我刚毕业). Here are some common times to use it:

• When you just finished a task: 我刚做完 (I just finished).
• When you just started something and get interrupted: 我刚开始吃 (I just started eating).
• When you are explaining a recent change: 他刚回家 (He just went home).
• When you are meeting someone: 你刚来吗？ (Did you just get here?).

Do not use 刚 for things that happened a long time ago. If you graduated three years ago, 刚 is not your friend. It is for things that feel "fresh." Also, do not use it to describe a state or a long duration. You cannot say "I just was tall." It needs an action. Another big rule: do not use it if you are talking about the past in a general way. If you are telling a story about your childhood, 刚 usually stays in the toolbox. It is for the "here and now" or the "just then."

Yes, even native speakers mess things up sometimes, but you can avoid these traps! The most common mistake is adding 了 (le) at the end. Usually, 刚 and 了 do not hang out together. 刚 already tells us the action is finished and recent. Adding 了 is like wearing two hats. It is redundant. Another mistake is putting 刚 in the wrong spot. Never put it before the subject. You cannot say 刚我到. It must be 我刚到. Also, don't confuse it with 刚才 (gāngcái). While they look similar, they play by different rules.

The biggest rival to 刚 is 刚才. Think of 刚才 as a noun meaning "a moment ago." Because it is a noun, it can sit at the very beginning of a sentence. You can say 刚才我去了商店 (A moment ago I went to the store). But 刚 is an adverb. It *must* follow the subject. Also, 刚 can be used for things that happened a bit further back if the speaker *feels* they are recent (like "I just moved here last month"). 刚才 is strictly for the very immediate past, like the last 5-10 minutes.