HSK 3 · Lesson 8飞机十点才起飞 The plane won’t take off until ten

Travel: 刚 and 刚才 “just now”, 马上 “right away”, 才 “not until (late)” and 就 “already (early)”, 一…就… “as soon as”, 来了三天了 “have been here three days”, the measure word 辆.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

At the station

A
我们的高铁几点出发？
Wǒmen de gāotiě jǐ diǎn chūfā?
What time does our high-speed train leave?
B
九点。已经开始检票了，我们快走吧。
Jiǔ diǎn. Yǐjīng kāishǐ jiǎnpiào le, wǒmen kuài zǒu ba.
At nine. Boarding has already started — let’s hurry.
A
等一下，我的护照呢？
Děng yíxià, wǒ de hùzhào ne?
Wait — where’s my passport?
B
你刚才把它放在箱子里了。
Nǐ gāngcái bǎ tā fàng zài xiāngzi li le.
You put it in your suitcase a minute ago.
A
对，找到了！行李太多了，我拿不动。
Duì, zhǎodào le! Xíngli tài duō le, wǒ ná bu dòng.
Right, found it! There’s too much luggage — I can’t carry it.
B
我帮你拿。马上就要九点了！
Wǒ bāng nǐ ná. Mǎshàng jiù yào jiǔ diǎn le!
I’ll help you. It’s almost nine!

A delayed flight

A
飞机晚点了，十点才起飞。
Fēijī wǎndiǎn le, shí diǎn cái qǐfēi.
The flight is delayed — we won’t take off until ten.
B
我们到宾馆的时候，可能已经十二点了。
Wǒmen dào bīnguǎn de shíhou, kěnéng yǐjīng shí’èr diǎn le.
By the time we get to the hotel it’ll probably be midnight.
A
没关系，宾馆的服务很好，司机会来机场接我们。
Méi guānxi, bīnguǎn de fúwù hěn hǎo, sījī huì lái jīchǎng jiē wǒmen.
Never mind, the hotel’s service is good — a driver will meet us at the airport.
B
那里的游客多吗？
Nàlǐ de yóukè duō ma?
Are there many tourists there?
A
很多，夏天外地游客特别多。
Hěn duō, xiàtiān wàidì yóukè tèbié duō.
Lots — in summer there are especially many from other places.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 刚 / 刚刚 and 刚才 — “just now”

刚 (刚刚) is an adverb after the subject, before the verb: 我刚到 “I’ve just arrived”, 他刚刚走. 刚才 means “a moment ago” and is a time word that can open a sentence: 刚才他来了, 你刚才说什么？ With 刚 there is no 了 after the verb: 我刚到 (not 我刚到了).

我刚到车站。
Wǒ gāng dào chēzhàn.
I’ve just got to the station.
你刚才说什么？
Nǐ gāngcái shuō shénme?
What did you just say?

2. 才 and 就: late and early

才 means “not until (that late)”: 飞机十点才起飞 “the plane won’t take off until ten”, 他九点才起床 “he didn’t get up until nine”. 就 means “already (that early)”: 他七点就到了 “he was already here at seven”. 才 has no 了 at the end; 就 usually does.

他九点才起床。
Tā jiǔ diǎn cái qǐchuáng.
He didn’t get up until nine.
他七点就到了。
Tā qī diǎn jiù dào le.
He arrived as early as seven.

3. 一…就… — “as soon as”; 马上 “right away”

一 + first action + 就 + second: 我一下飞机就给你打电话 “I’ll call you as soon as I get off the plane”, 他一回家就睡觉了. Similar is 了…就…: 下了课就回家. 马上 means “right away, any moment”: 我马上来! 马上就要九点了.

我一下飞机就给你打电话。
Wǒ yí xià fēijī jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.
I’ll call you as soon as I get off the plane.
等一下，我马上来！
Děng yíxià, wǒ mǎshàng lái!
Wait a moment, I’m coming!

4. 来了三天了 — “for three days now”

With verbs like 来, 到, 走, 下(飞机), a time phrase tells how long ago the action ended, not how long it lasted: 我来中国三年了 “I’ve been in China for three years” (came three years ago), 他走了半个小时了 “he left half an hour ago”.

我来中国三年了。
Wǒ lái Zhōngguó sān nián le.
I’ve been in China for three years.
他走了半个小时了。
Tā zǒule bàn ge xiǎoshí le.
He left half an hour ago.

5. 辆, 骑, 带

辆 is the measure word for vehicles: 一辆汽车, 两辆自行车. 骑 means “ride (astride)”: 骑自行车, 骑马 (a car is 开车 or 坐车). 带 means “take along”: 带护照, 带伞; 带孩子 “take the child”.

我骑自行车去学校。
Wǒ qí zìxíngchē qù xuéxiào.
I cycle to school.
别忘了带护照！
Bié wàngle dài hùzhào!
Don’t forget your passport!

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    飞机十点才起飞。 Fēijī shí diǎn cái qǐfēi. — The plane won’t take off until ten.

  2. Answer
    我刚到车站。 Wǒ gāng dào chēzhàn. — I’ve just got to the station.

  3. Answer
    我一下飞机就给你打电话。 Wǒ yí xià fēijī jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà. — I’ll call you as soon as I land.

  4. Answer
    我来中国三年了。 Wǒ lái Zhōngguó sān nián le. — I’ve been in China for three years.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “He didn’t get up until nine”

    Answer
    他九点才起床。
  2. 我___下课就回家。

    Answer
    一
  3. “What did you just say?”: 你___说什么？

    Answer
    刚才
  4. 一___自行车

    Answer
    辆

3. Build the sentence

  1. The plane won’t take off until ten.

    Answer
    飞机十点才起飞。 Fēijī shí diǎn cái qǐfēi.
  2. I’ll call you as soon as I get to the hotel.

    Answer
    我一到宾馆就给你打电话。 Wǒ yí dào bīnguǎn jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.
  3. I’ve been in China for three years.

    Answer
    我来中国三年了。 Wǒ lái Zhōngguó sān nián le.
  4. Don’t forget your passport!

    Answer
    别忘了带护照！ Bié wàngle dài hùzhào!

4. Dialogue: you are the traveller

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
你什么时候出发？
Nǐ shénme shíhou chūfā?
When are you leaving?
B
明天早上七点。
Míngtiān zǎoshang qī diǎn.
Tomorrow at seven in the morning.
A
这么早啊！你带护照了吗？
Zhème zǎo a! Nǐ dài hùzhào le ma?
So early! Have you got your passport?
B
带了，我刚才把它放在箱子里了。
Dài le, wǒ gāngcái bǎ tā fàng zài xiāngzi li le.
Yes, I just put it in my suitcase.
A
到了给我打电话。
Dàole gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.
Call me when you get there.
B
好，我一下飞机就给你打电话。
Hǎo, wǒ yí xià fēijī jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.
OK, I’ll call you as soon as I land.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. I’ve just eaten.
    Answer
    我刚吃饭。/ 我刚吃完饭。
  2. The train won’t leave until eight.
    Answer
    火车八点才出发。
  3. He has been learning Chinese for two years.
    Answer
    他学汉语学了两年了。/ 他学了两年汉语了。

💡 Did you know?: High-speed rail

China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, 高铁: trains run at up to 350 km/h, and Beijing to Shanghai takes about four to five hours. Tickets are sold against your passport, which you also use to board — 检票 happens at the gates.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).