就 meaning in English
(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after
Meaning of 就
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then
- (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after
- (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly
- only; as little as
- as much as; as many as
- to approach; to move towards
- to undertake; to engage in
- (often followed by 著|着[zhe5]) taking advantage of
How to use 就
就 (jiù) is one of the most common adverbs in Chinese. It often means "then" after a condition, "as soon as" after an action, or "just, only" for emphasis. Example: 你来了我就走。(Nǐ lái le wǒ jiù zǒu.) I will leave as soon as you come.
Picture 就 (jiù) as someone walking right up to a thing and getting on with it. That idea of moving toward something links to its senses of approaching and doing something right away.
Common mistake: Learners often put 就 before the subject, as in 就我走. It must go after the subject and right before the verb, as in 我就走 (wǒ jiù zǒu). Learners also mix up 就 and 才 (cái). 就 suggests something happens early or easily, while 才 suggests late or with difficulty.
就 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
就 jiù · in that case · 12 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Related words
Words that share a character with 就.
| 就要 | jiùyào | will; shall |
| 早就 | zǎo jiù | already at an earlier time |
| 就是 | jiùshì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just |
| 成就 | chéngjiù | accomplishment; success |
| 就业 | jiùyè | to get a job; employment |
| 就算 | jiùsuàn | (coll.) even if |
| 就是说 | jiùshìshuō | in other words; that is |
| 这就是说 | zhè jiùshì shuō | in other words; that is to say |
| 也就是说 | yějiùshìshuō | in other words; that is to say |
| 造就 | zàojiù | to bring up; to train |
| 就读 | jiùdú | to go to school |
| 迁就 | qiānjiù | to yield to; to adapt to; to accommodate oneself to (sth) |
Questions about 就
What does 就 mean?
就 (jiù) means "(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 就?
就 is made of 1 character: 就 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 就 an HSK word?
Yes. 就 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 就 and 就是?
就 alone is usually an adverb meaning then, right away, or only. 就是 (jiùshì) often means exactly or simply. It can stress that something is precisely so, as in 就是他 (jiù shì tā), it is him.
How do I use 就 with 如果 to make an if-then sentence?
Put 如果 (rúguǒ) at the start of the condition and 就 before the verb in the result. For example, 如果下雨，我们就不去。(Rúguǒ xià yǔ, wǒmen jiù bú qù.) If it rains, we won't go.