Usage of ‘就 jiù’ in Chinese language

When Chinese language students first learn 就 (jiù), they’re told that it means “just”. But *just* like the word *just* in English, the word “just” in Mandarin Chinese has many meanings and ways to use it.

Here are some examples of how to use ‘就 jiù’ in the Chinese language levels HSK 2 and 3. We hope with these tips, 就 (jiù) will drive you a little bit less crazy while learning Mandarin.

Use 就 (jiù) to emphasize a verb

Put “jiu” before a verb to emphasize the verb.

• Michael是谁？就是我。
• Michael shì shéi? jiù shì wǒ.
• Who is Michael? It’s me.

就 (jiù) signals an action takes only a short amount of time

• 天安门广场离这儿不远，走路二十分钟就到了。
• Tiān’ānmén guǎngchǎng lí zhèr bù yuǎn, zǒulù èrshí fēnzhōng jiù dào le.
• Tian’anmen Square is not far from here. It just took 20 minutes to walk there.

Structure: Topic +就(jiù)……(了le)

You can rephrase this sentence:

• 早上9点上课，他8点到教室。
• Zǎoshang 9 diǎn shàngkè, tā 8 diǎn dào jiàoshì.
• Class starts at 9 o’clock in the morning, and he arrives in the classroom at 8 o’clock.

Into this one:

• 他八点就到教室了。
• Tā bā diǎn jiù dào jiàoshì le.
• He arrived in the classroom at eight o’clock.

Another rewriting example using 就 jiù:

• 飞机是12点的，王小麦10点到机场。
• Fēijī shì 12 diǎn de, Wáng Xiǎomài 10 diǎn dào jīchǎng.
• The plane is at 12 o’clock, Wang Mai arrives at the airport at 10 o’clock.

Into this:

• 王小麦10点就到机场了。
• Wáng xiǎomài 10 diǎn jiù dào jīchǎngle.
• Wang Maimai arrived at the airport at 10 o’clock.

Another example, from this:

• 他三分钟吃完了午饭。
• Tā sān fēnzhōng chī wánle wǔfàn.
• He finished his lunch in three minutes.

To:

• Tā sān fēnzhōng jiù chī wán fànle.
  他三分钟就吃完饭了。
  He finished his meal in three minutes.

And:

• 他用了不到半个小时跑完了10公里的马拉松。
• Tā yòngle bú dào bàn gè xiǎoshí pǎo wánle 10 gōnglǐ de mǎlāsōng.
• He ran the 10 km marathon in less than half an hour.

Into:

• 他不到半个小时就跑完马拉松了。
• Tā bú dào bàn gè xiǎoshí jiù pǎo wán mǎlāsōngle.
• He finished the marathon in less than half an hour.

Use 就 (jiù) to emphasize an action will happen soon

This is the most common meaning of “jiu” in Chinese language HSK 2 textbooks.

• 等我一下，我就来。
• Děng wǒ yíxià, wǒ jiù lái.
• Wait for me, I will come soon.

The structure “jiu…le / jiuyao… le” is the same meaning.

• 春节就要来了。
• Chūnjié jiùyào lái le.
• The Spring Festival is coming soon.

就 (jiù) signals an action happened earlier than expected

In this case, put “jiu” after the time word.

• 我早上8点就到公司了。
• Wǒ zǎoshang 8 diǎn jiù dào gōngsī le.
• I arrived the company at 8 am.

Use 就 (jiù) as ‘Then’ (conjunction word)

• 只要你努力学习，你就一定能成功。
• Zhǐyào nǐ nǔlì xuéxí, nǐ jiù yídìng néng chénggōng.
• As long as you study hard, then you will surely succeed.

The structure “…le…jiu…” has the same meaning, but in Chinese indicates two actions that occurred successively.

• 昨天我回了家就睡觉。
• Zuótiān wǒ huíle jiā jiù shuìjiào.
• Yesterday I went home then slept immediately.

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These are five different Chinese language meanings of “jiu” in HSK 2 and 3. Why are there so many variations at an elementary level? Maybe because it’s commonly used in everyday conversation. It’ll take you some time to get intuitive with this, but we hope this helps you understand the usage of this Chinese word a little better.