Learn how to use the adverb 就 (jiù)
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Intro |
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| Hi everybody! Yinru here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Chinese questions. |
| The Question |
| The question for this lesson is: How do I use the adverb 就 jiù？ |
| Explanation |
| Today we’re going to show you how to use the word 就 jiù in three ways. |
| Here’s the first usage. It’s used before a verb to suggest the earliness and quickness of the action. For example, if someone says, |
| 你就来了啊？(Nǐ jiù láile a?), |
| the implied meaning is “Oh, you are here already? I didn’t expect you to be here so soon.” |
| 我五点就到家了。(Wǒ wǔ diǎn jiù dào jiā le. “I got home at five.”) Here it’s implied that “at five” is considered early. |
| 他一分钟就学会了。(tā yìfēnzhōng jiù xuéhuì le. “He got it within one minute.”) |
| Second usage: It’s used to connect two actions, indicating that the second action, which is the action following 就, happens as soon as the first action is completed. Let’s see some examples: |
| 我吃完早饭就去上班了。(Wǒ chīwán zǎofàn jiù qù shàngbān le. “As soon as I finished my breakfast, I went to work.”) |
| 我写完报告就把电脑关了。(Wǒ xiě wán bàogào jiù bǎ diànnǎo guānle. “I turned off the computer after I finished writing my report.”) |
| 你一下飞机就打车回家了吗？(Nǐ yí xià fēijī jiù dǎchē huíjiā le ma? “Did you get a cab and go home as soon as you got off the plane?”) |
| Third and final usage: It’s also used as a conjunction word, indicating that the second action or situation, which follows 就, is the result of the first action or situation. |
| 你喜欢吃，就多吃点。(Nǐ xǐhuān chī, jiù duō chī diǎn. “Since you like it, eat more.”) |
| 要是你不打电话给我，我就打电话给你。(Yàoshi nǐ bù dǎdiànhuà gěi wǒ, wǒ jiù dǎdiànhuà gěi nǐ. “If you don’t call me, then I will call you.”) |
| 既然她不喜欢唱歌，我们就不去卡拉OK。(Jìrán tā bù xǐhuān chànggē , wǒmen jiù bú qù kǎlā OK. “Since she doesn’t like to sing, we are not going to karaoke.”) |
| Karaoke is a very popular entertainment in China. You will see lots of KTVs, which are karaoke places with private karaoke rooms of different sizes. These places usually serve food and beverages. |
| 你喜欢卡啦ok吗？喜欢的话，我们现在就去！ |
| Nǐ xǐhuān kǎ la ok ma ? Xǐhuān dehuà , wǒmen xiànzài jiù qù! |
| (“Do you like karaoke? If you do, let’s go now!”) |
Outro |
| How was it? Pretty interesting, right? |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below, and I’ll try to answer them! |
| 我们今天就到这里。Wǒmen jīntiān jiù dào zhèli. |
| See you in the next episode! 下期再见！Xiàqī zàijiàn! Bye! |
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