just now; a moment ago
HSK level
刚刚 is written with 12 strokes (刚: 6, 刚: 6). The animation replays automatically.
刚刚 (gānggāng) is an adverb meaning 'just now,' 'a moment ago,' or 'just barely.'
Its main use marks an action that happened in the very recent past — 他刚刚走 'he just left.' A second use means 'exactly / precisely,' as in 刚刚好 'just right, perfect fit.' Two differences from English 'just.' First, 刚刚 is a doubled, more emphatic form of 刚 (gāng); the reduplication stresses how recent the moment was, feeling slightly warmer or more definite than plain 刚.
Second, as a time word 刚刚 refers to real elapsed time in the past, whereas English 'just' can also mean 'only/simply' — that sense is 只是 (zhǐshì) in Chinese, not 刚刚. Position it before the verb, and note it pairs naturally with 了 for completed recent actions. Register is neutral and very common in speech.
Character by character
Memory hook: 刚 doubled = 'just just' — emphasizing it happened only a moment ago.
我刚刚吃完饭。
Wǒ gānggāng chī wán fàn.
I just finished eating.
spoken
他刚刚出去了。
Tā gānggāng chūqù le.
He just went out.
spoken
这件衣服大小刚刚好。
Zhè jiàn yīfu dàxiǎo gānggāng hǎo.
This piece of clothing fits just right.
neutral
会议刚刚开始，你没迟到。
Huìyì gānggāng kāishǐ, nǐ méi chídào.
The meeting just started, you're not late.
neutral
刚才 is a time noun ('a moment ago') and can stand alone as a topic (刚才你说什么 'what did you say just now'). 刚刚 is an adverb tied to the verb. 刚才 points to a short past window; 刚刚 stresses immediacy. They often overlap but 刚才 behaves like a noun, 刚刚 like an adverb.
刚 is the single-syllable version, slightly plainer. 刚刚 doubles it for a bit more emphasis on how recent. In fast speech 刚 is common; 刚刚 draws attention to the recency.
Acquire it by listening
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 刚刚 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.
