HSK 4 grammar · adverb
才
才 — only then (later / under a condition)
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
Placed before the verb, 才 signals that something happens only after a condition is met, or later/more slowly than expected. It contrasts with 就, which marks that something happens readily or sooner than expected; 才 sentences normally take no 了.
Examples
他昨天晚上十二点才睡。
Tā zuótiān wǎnshang shí'èr diǎn cái shuì.
He didn't go to sleep until twelve last night.
做完作业才能玩。
Zuò wán zuòyè cái néng wán.
Only after finishing homework can you play.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 才 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.