就
Tap the pinyin to hear it
(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly; only; as little as; as much as; as many as; to approach; to move towards; to undertake; to engage in; (often followed by 著|着[zhe5]) taking advantage of; (of food) to go with; with regard to; concerning; (bound form) to reach; to attain (as in 一蹴而就[yi1 cu4 er2 jiu4]); (pattern: 就[jiu4] ... 也[ye3] ...) even if ... still ...; (pattern: 不[bu4] ... 就[jiu4] ...) if not ... then must be ...
- HSK 3.0
- Level 1
- Old HSK
- Level 2
- Strokes
- 12
- Radical
- 尢 +9
- Structure
- Left–right 左右
- Traditional
- 就
- Common rank
- #732
- Unicode
- U+5C31
Sound it out + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
Words with 就
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 动不动就生气 | to be quick to take offense; to have a short fuse | |
| 不作死就不会死 | serves you right for doing sth so stupid (Internet slang) | |
| 一学就会 | to pick up (a skill) in a very short time; to take to sth like a duck to water | |
| 不明就里 | not to understand the situation; unaware of the ins and outs | |
| 一点就通 | a hint is all that is needed; understanding each other without the need to explain | |
| 高不成低不就 | can't reach the high or accept the low (idiom); not good enough for a high post, but too p… | |
| 就业机会 | employment opportunity; job opening | |
| 就地正法 | to execute on the spot (idiom); summary execution; to carry out the law on the spot | |
| 入口就化 | to melt in one's mouth | |
| 不知就里 | unaware of the inner workings; naive; unwitting | |
| 就业安定费 | Employment Stability Fee (Taiwan), a minimum monthly fee for employing foreign workers | |
| 就事论事 | to discuss sth on its own merits; to judge the matter as it stands | |
| 不空成就佛 | Amoghasiddhi Buddha | |
| 高低不就 | can't reach the high or accept the low (idiom); not good enough for a high post, but too p… | |
| 不是鱼死就是网破 | lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom); fig. it's a life-and-death struggl… | |
| 说干就干 | to do what needs to be done, without delay | |
| 团结就是力量 | unity is strength (revolutionary slogan and popular song of 1943) | |
| 见好就收 | (idiom) to quit while one is ahead; to know when to stop | |
| 功成名就 | to win success and recognition (idiom) | |
| 就学 | to attend school |
Sound family
Characters sharing the sound component 京 — compare how they read.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 京 sound part | capital city | |
| 惊 | to frighten, to startle; surprise, alarm | |
| 凉 | cool, cold; disheartened | |
| 琼 | jade; rare, precious; elegant | |
| 鲸 | whale | |
| 掠 | to pillage, to ransack | |
| 椋 | fruit | |
| 谅 | to excuse, to forgive; to guess, to presume | |
| 晾 | to air-dry; to sun-dry | |
| 黥 | to tattoo; to brand the face of criminals | |
| 辌 | carriage, hearse |
Examples & usage
Real sentences with 就 — read them aloud, then paste your own into the converter.
-
我就要到了。
Wǒ jiù yào dào le.
I'm almost there.
-
他就是我哥哥。
Tā jiù shì wǒ gēge.
He is my older brother.
Usage tip: 就 用法很多，最常见的两个是 就要 (about to) 和 就是 (exactly is / 强调)。