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Using "cai" for small numbers

才 cái

Adverb
HSK 3

Structure

才 + Number + [Measure Word] + Noun 才 + Verb + Number + Measure Word + Noun

Definition

表示数量少、时间早、程度低等，强调小或不足。

Indicates small quantity, early time, low degree, etc., emphasizing smallness or insufficiency.

Usage

通常放在动词或数量词前，修饰数字或时间，强调其小或少。也可以用于比较结构中。

Usually placed before a verb or a numeral, modifying numbers or time to emphasize their smallness. Can also be used in comparative structures.

Examples

  • 1 他今天才花了十块钱。 (He only spent ten yuan today.)
  • 2 我才睡了五个小时，好困。 (I only slept five hours, so sleepy.)
  • 3 他才二十岁就当上经理了。 (He became a manager at only twenty years old.)
  • 4 这里离车站才两百米。 (It's only two hundred meters from here to the station.)
  • 5 这个任务我才用了一个小时就完成了。 (I finished this task in just one hour.)

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