刚才
just now; a moment ago
gāngcái
What does 刚才 mean?
刚才 (gāngcái) is a time noun meaning 'just now' or 'a moment ago' — it refers to a specific point in the very recent past, usually within the last few minutes. Two things trip up English speakers: first, 刚才 is a NOUN, not an adverb, so it sits at the front of the sentence or right after the subject (我刚才看见他 — I saw him just now), and you can even say 刚才的电话 ('the phone call just now').
Second, it is different from the adverb 刚 (gāng), which attaches directly to a verb to mean 'just / just did' (我刚到 — I just arrived). Use 刚才 when you want to point back to a recent moment as a thing; use 刚 when you want to say an action just happened.
Note: Equally common in spoken and written contexts. In very casual speech, native speakers sometimes shorten it to 刚刚 (gānggāng) or just 刚.
Character breakdown
just; barely; firm
just; only then; talent
Memory hook: 刚 'just' + 才 'only then' — the moment that just only-then happened: just now.
Example sentences
你刚才去哪儿了？
Nǐ gāngcái qù nǎr le?
Where did you go just now?
spoken
我刚才看见他了。
Wǒ gāngcái kànjiàn tā le.
I saw him a moment ago.
neutral
刚才老师说的，你听见了吗？
Gāngcái lǎoshī shuō de, nǐ tīngjiàn le ma?
Did you hear what the teacher just said?
spoken
对不起，刚才我在打电话。
Duìbuqǐ, gāngcái wǒ zài dǎ diànhuà.
Sorry, I was on the phone just now.
spoken, polite
Common phrases with 刚才
Synonyms
刚刚 can mean both 'just now' (like 刚才) and 'just barely' as an adverb. 刚才 only points to a recent time as a noun; 刚刚 is more flexible and slightly more spoken.
刚 is an adverb meaning an action just happened (我刚到 — I just arrived). 刚才 is a noun naming the recent moment (刚才我到了 — a moment ago I arrived). Position and grammar differ.