B1 · Grammar reference · ASGC6E1C
Expressing "all the way until" with "zhidao"
直到 (zhídào) is for describing a time frame that began in the past and continued until a point closer to the present. It is like the English phrase, "all the way until." It can be used in an affirmative or negative form, expressing that something has taken a while or is late. The word 才 (cái) often teams up with 直到, and serves to emphasize the lateness aspect.
- Keywords
- 直到 · 到 · 才 · until · by the time
- Used for
- Sequencing events in time · Expressing attitude
- Classification
- Prepositions · HSK3
Examples (10)
直到十二点半，我才做完作业。
直到半个月以后，我的感冒才好。
她直到十八岁才见到亲生父母。
我直到大学毕业才开始独立生活。
直到去了北京，他才知道一个人在大城市多辛苦。
直到他搬到上海，我们都没见过。
他们是同学，但是直到毕业，都没说过话。
直到电影结束，他都没来。
直到我弟弟上大学，他都不会洗衣服。
我认识他一年多了，直到现在，我都不知道他的全名。
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Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.
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