B1 · Grammar reference · ASGYW5RS
Using "cai" for small numbers
The character 才 (cái) can be used to emphasize that a number is small, or less than expected.
- Keywords
- 才
- Used for
- Expressing quantity · Emphasizing
- Classification
- Adverbs · HSK3
Examples (10)
你才二十岁？
这个班才两个学生。
你的工资才两千？
这顿饭才二十块，太便宜了！
你才一百斤，还要减肥？
她才来了两个月。
这家店关门了？可是它才开业一个星期。
已经两天了，你才看完一页？
我们才玩了一会儿，再玩一会儿吧？
他们结婚了？他们才认识三个月！
Further resources
Learn from another explanation
No editorial pick yet for this exact pattern.
Editorial picks are checked for a close topic match. Search results and external content belong to their publishers and may change.
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.
Related points