Grammar #1: 就

[xuechengfeng]

This word with various meanings always gives me trouble. The only ways I for sure know how to use it are..

1. 我就一本書。(only)

2. 我一看他﹐就知道他是美國人。(as soon as.. then)

What are the rest of the ways to use it?

[studentyoung]

Dear xuechengfeng:

Please see as below:

1. dedicated(专注的):一心一意 dedicated

2. given(特定的):一定的的条件下 under some given situtations

3. fixed, unchangable(定期的，不变的):一定按期完成 must be finished on time

4. all, the whole(满，全): 一屋子人 all the people in the house, 一生 the whole life time

5. the same(相同): 一样 the same

6. lightly (稍微，轻微):看一看have a look, 休息一下have a break.

Ok, that all I know. Thanks for your attention.

Learn well and make progress every day! (好好学习，天天向上！)

[davesgonechina]

Uh, studentyoung, I think the question was about 就 not 一。 Good word, xuechengfeng, I get confused over it's proper usage as well, so I'd like to see more on this. I know you can use it for food sometimes, like 炒鸡蛋就饭。

[skylee]

Would this help? ->

http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/cgi-bin/agrep-lindict?query=%b4%4e&category=wholerecord

[xuechengfeng]

That would be a great help, but why does the highlighted read character not look like 就

[HashiriKata]

why does the highlighted read character not look like 就

Bill Gates hasn't yet joined the forum to answer your question

Try changing the Window's encoding to "Traditional Chinese" (Big5). This works on my machine. Windows should do it automatically though!

[Altair]

I think that one can think of the basic meaning of 就 as "going right to" something. From this comes the meaning of "going smoothly and quickly" to something, but also the meaning of "precisely." If you look at the meanings listed on the link Skylee kindly provided, I think you can see these meanings threading through the more specific uses.

By the way, do these two sentences mean the same thing?:

我就有三本書。

我只有三本書。

I am asking because "only" and "just" in English can have different connotations, sometimes depending on the position within the sentence. I am wondering whether 就 and 只 are really synonymous in this meaning, or really only similar in meaning. My guess is that 就 is closer to "just" and that 只 is closer to "only."

"Only" usually implies that a lesser amount than expected is involved. "I have only three books" implies that others have more or that I could be expected to have more. "I only have three books" usually means the same thing in informal speech, but can also imply, especially in careful writing, that "having three books" is a lesser thing than having other possessions of whatever number. "Just" can be used in more or less in the same way, but to my ear, it implies some precision. For instance, "that's just what I wanted" does not so much imply that nothing else was desired, but rather that the thing precisely fits the requirements. Sometimes this precision is used to deny that any excess has occured, e.g., "I just took what was necessary" or "I was just being honest." Other times it is used to imply that a sufficient amount has barely been obtained, as in "I just made it on time." In some of these uses, "only" and "just" are interchangeable, but in others they are not.

To make my question easier to answer, could someone say which of the following statements require 就, which require 只, which could use either without a change in meaning, and which must be expressed in some other way, such as with 才?

1. I only/just ate one piece of candy, may I have another? (只?)

2. That's just what I wanted. (就?)

3. I just want what's best for you, my dear. (只 and 就, but with different meanings?)

4. I was only/just being honest. (只 and 就, but with different meanings?)

5. I arrived only/just as the train was leaving? (只, 就, and 才 but with different meanings?)

6. It's just the telephone, not the fire alarm. (就?)

7. Oh, it's only/just the telephone. I was afraid it was the fire alarm. (就).

8. I was just tall enough to see. (?)(As a matter of fact, how would one say this in Chinese?)

[skylee]

8. I was just tall enough to see. (?)(As a matter of fact, how would one say this in Chinese?)

-> 我僅僅/剛好夠高看到。

7. Oh, it's only/just the telephone. I was afraid it was the fire alarm.

-> 哦，那不過是電話鈴聲，我還害怕那是火警鐘聲呢。

6. It's just the telephone, not the fire alarm.

-> 那不過是電話鈴聲，不是火警鐘聲。

5. I arrived only/just as the train was leaving?

-> 火車離開的時候，我剛好趕到。

4. I was only/just being honest.

-> 我不過是實話實說(，沒有其他的意思)。

3. I just want what's best for you, my dear.

-> 親愛的，我不過是為你設想(，沒有其他的意思)。

2. That's just what I wanted.

-> 這正（正）是我想要的東西。

1. I only/just ate one piece of candy, may I have another?

-> 我不過吃了一塊糖果，我可以多吃一塊嗎?

不過 = 僅僅

[Altair]

Wow, not a one with 只, 就, or 才? When would you feel a need to use 只 or 就 to translate "only"?

[HashiriKata]

8. I was just tall enough to see. (?)(As a matter of fact, how would one say this in Chinese?)

-> 我僅僅/剛好夠高看到。

-> 我僅僅/剛好高得看得到 or

-> 我夠高得看得到

(I know my limit, and this reply is no more than an exploration for me to learn more.)

[skylee]

I'm not quite sure why 就 doesn't play in the translation of your sentence

One reason is that one can choose not to use the word.

I think 就 is applicable to #2, 只 to #1,3,4,6,7, 才 to #5.

[HashiriKata]

Such a timing! (my deletion of the question and your replying to it)

By the way, do my versions of 8 sound ok?

[skylee]

I wouldn't say it that way. But hey there are usaually many ways to say the same thing.

[Ong SeowChin]

BRAVO!

Alltair and Skylee, you guys are like Newton who could see the Gravity when the apple fell down but not the others.

Well done!

[ced1zh]

There's another meaning of 就：to acquiesce

eg. 他还不太熟练，你（迁）就着他点。

[Chineseteacher]

I was just tall enough to see.

我僅僅/剛好夠高看到。

我僅僅/剛好高得看得到

我夠高得看得到

the translations above are all not idiomatic. the proper translation should be like this

我的身高刚好能够看到。

[words8821]

I'm a Chinese teacher ,I would translate the following sentences in this way.

1. I only/just ate one piece of candy, may I have another? (只?)

2. That's just what I wanted. (就?)

3. I just want what's best for you, my dear. (只 and 就, but with different meanings?)

4. I was only/just being honest. (只 and 就, but with different meanings?)

5. I arrived only/just as the train was leaving? (只, 就, and 才 but with different meanings?)

6. It's just the telephone, not the fire alarm. (就?)

7. Oh, it's only/just the telephone. I was afraid it was the fire alarm. (就).

8. I was just tall enough to see. (?)(As a matter of fact, how would one say this in Chinese?)

1我只吃了一块糖,我可以再吃一块吗?

2那正是我需要的.

3亲爱的,我只是为了你好!

4我只是实话实说而已.

5就在火车要开的时候,我到了.(I arrived just right.)

OR 火车要开的时候,我才到.(I arrived very late)

6正是电话铃声,不是火警.

7哦,只是电话声啊,我还以为是火警呢.

8我的个子正好能看见.

[tiffsmith]

Is this 'train' 火車?

How come Skylee writes it as above, yet Words puts an extra character in between like so 火车要?

Also at the risk of sounding even more like a newb, why is the word 'fire' contained in the word train?

Thanks!

Edit: The more i try to figure it out the more confused I become.

[skylee]

I am not sure why Words would insert words in the text you type. I think you are the one to insert words in Words. (ha ha)

As to why there is 火 in 火車 ... once upon a time, when trains first appeared, steam locomotives were used to pull passenger cars. The steam was generated by boiling water by burning fuel (like coal, wood, sugar cane, oil etc). With burning, there was fire. Fire in the vehicle, thus 火車.

[tiffsmith]

I am not sure why Words would insert words in the text you type. I think you are the one to insert words in Words. (ha ha)

Words' words are confusing me.

As to why there is 火 in 火車 ... once upon a time, when trains first appeared, steam locomotives were used to pull passenger cars. The steam was generated by boiling water by burning fuel (like coal, wood, sugar cane, oil etc). With burning, there was fire. Fire in the vehicle, thus 火車.

Of course, that makes perfect sense. Thanks!