update time：2025-05-12 13:16:27 Number of clicks：623 hits
The next meaning of 才 we'll look at is “not until”. This is also very common. When used in this way, 才 is always followed by a verb or verb phrase. Another thing to note is that when 才 means “not until”, it usually means that the event is expected or anticipated.
Some examples:
我们十点上课，可是她十一点才来。
We start class at 10, but she didn't arrive until 11.
他明天才走。
He's not leaving until tomorrow.
你怎么现在才来？
How come you've only just got here?
你做完作业才可以出去。
You can't go out until you've finished your homework.
Always remember that when using 才 to talk about timings, you don't use 了. The two characters 才 and 了 don't generally play well together; it's one or the other.
Another little tip that you might find useful is that when 才 is used with times, you could think of it as being the opposite of ‘already’. ‘Already’ can suggest that something happened earlier than expected, whereas 才 can suggest that it happened later than expected.
As well as talking about actual times, 才 can be used a little more idiomatically to talk about whether things qualify or meet certain standards. Some examples should make this idea clearer:
到北方才能吃到真正的饺子！
You can only get real dumplings in the north!
这才算一个充分的理由。
Now_ that's _a good reason.
这样做才对。
_That's_ the way to do it. ["It's not right until you do it this way."]
As you can see, it's not totally clear if this use of 才 is closer to “only” or “not until”. Hopefully it demonstrates how all these uses of 才 are related. They're all have something to do with meeting certain levels or certain lines being crossed.
If you've seen this clip from the film Crocodile Dundee, you might be able to get a good sense of using 才 in this way. In the scene, Crocodile Dundee is not impressed by the knife a mugger is trying to threaten him with. He pulls out his own much larger knife and says “This is a knife.” In Chinese, you could use 才 in that situation:
那不是刀… 这才是刀！
That's not a knife... _this _is a knife!
