刚才 / 刚 gāngcái / gāng
刚才 / 刚（gāngcái / gāng）means “just now (刚才) / just, a moment ago (刚)”. "刚才" is a time noun meaning "just now / a moment ago"; it names the recent past time and can stand alone or move fairly freely (刚才我在忙 / 我刚才在忙). Formation: 刚才 + 小句；刚 + V
just now (刚才) / just, a moment ago (刚)
HSK2Formation
刚才 + 小句；刚 + V
Explanation
"刚才" is a time noun meaning "just now / a moment ago"; it names the recent past time and can stand alone or move fairly freely (刚才我在忙 / 我刚才在忙). "刚" is an adverb meaning "just / a moment ago"; it must go right before the verb (我刚到) and emphasizes that the action happened only a short time ago.
Examples
Note
刚才 (noun) can take a position like a normal time word; 刚 (adverb) can only sit right before the verb and cannot stand alone.
FAQ
刚才 / 刚 — what does it mean and how is it used?
just now (刚才) / just, a moment ago (刚). "刚才" is a time noun meaning "just now / a moment ago"; it names the recent past time and can stand alone or move fairly freely (刚才我在忙 / 我刚才在忙). "刚" is an adverb meaning "just / a moment ago"; it must go right before the verb (我刚到) and emphasizes that the action happened only a short time ago.
刚才 / 刚 — how do you form it?
刚才 + 小句；刚 + V
刚才 / 刚 — any usage notes?
刚才 (noun) can take a position like a normal time word; 刚 (adverb) can only sit right before the verb and cannot stand alone.