Right away, just now: 马上, 立刻, 刚, 刚才
副词 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
- 马上 (mǎshàng): "right away, in a moment", very spoken, often with 就: 比赛马上就开始了.
- 立刻 (lìkè): "immediately", faster and more written; often a reaction to an event: 他听到哨声，立刻跑了出去.
- 刚 (gāng): adverb, "just (did)": 我刚到 (I've just arrived). It goes after the subject.
- 刚才 (gāngcái): time noun, "a moment ago". It can go before the subject and combines with 了 and negation: 刚才你没来.
刚 vs 刚才: 我刚到 ✓ / 我刚才到的 ✓, but ✗ 刚你去哪儿了 → ✓ 刚才你去哪儿了？
Examples
快点儿，比赛马上就开始了！
Kuài diǎnr, bǐsài mǎshàng jiù kāishǐ le!Hurry up, the match is about to start!
他一拿到球，立刻往前跑。
Tā yì nádào qiú, lìkè wǎng qián pǎo.As soon as he gets the ball, he immediately runs forward.
我刚到体育馆，你在哪儿？
Wǒ gāng dào tǐyùguǎn, nǐ zài nǎr?I've just got to the stadium: where are you?
刚才那个球踢得太漂亮了！
Gāngcái nàge qiú tī de tài piàoliang le!That shot just now was gorgeous!
Common mistakes
✗ 刚我吃饭了。 → 刚 follows the subject. ✓ 我刚吃饭。/ 刚才我吃饭了。
✗ 我刚不在。 → negation goes with 刚才: ✓ 我刚才不在。