LEARN + CHINESE / 113 of 300 HSK 3
Once You Start, Finish It 了…就
The last train leaves in ten minutes: 吃了饭就走, “let’s leave as soon as we’ve eaten.” 了 marks the first action as complete; 就 brings in what follows right away. When the same person does both actions, Chinese can leave the second subject unsaid.
如果他再努力一点，就可能已经成功了。
rúguǒ tā zài nǔlì yìdiǎn， jiù kěnéng yǐjīng chénggōng le。
If he had tried a little harder, he might have succeeded by now.
“我明天再做。” “这话你昨天就说过了！”
“wǒ míngtiān zài zuò。” “zhè huà nǐ zuótiān jiù shuō guò le！”
“I’ll do it again tomorrow.” “You said that just yesterday!”
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
le | (particle for completion) |
jiù | then; just |
nǔlì | hardworking; strive |
kěnéng | possible; maybe |
rúguǒ | if |
yǐjīng | already |
chénggōng | success; successful |
míngtiān | tomorrow |
zuótiān | yesterday |
lǎobǎn | boss |
shōudào | to receive (result) |
yǒurén | someone; there is someone |
lìyì | benefit; interest |
zǔzhī | to organize; organization |
tóng | same; together; with |
bùyòng | no need to |
yībiān | one side; while |
kāijī | to turn on (phone/machine) |
ránhòu | then; afterwards |
bùdàn | not only |
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