刚好 and 恰好: just right, as it happened
【六12】语气副词 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
刚好 and 恰好 say that something falls exactly right or happens, by chance, at just the right (or wrong) moment. They have two uses: the exact measure (鞋穿着刚好, 钱刚好够: “just what was needed”) and coincidence in time (我刚要出门，他刚好回来了: “he came back at that very moment”).
恰好 is a little more written, 刚好 more spoken (正好 is their everyday synonym). 刚好 can also be a predicate (这双鞋大小刚好), whereas 恰好 is an adverb before the verb (恰好不在, 恰好相反). Do not mix them up with 刚 (“just now, a moment ago”: 他刚走); and unlike 偏偏, which shows annoyance, they are neutral: the coincidence can be lucky or unlucky.
Examples
这双鞋我穿刚好。
Zhè shuāng xié wǒ chuān gānghǎo.These shoes fit me just right.
我带的钱刚好够买一张票。
Wǒ dài de qián gānghǎo gòu mǎi yì zhāng piào.The money I brought is just enough to buy one ticket.
我刚要出门，他刚好回来了。
Wǒ gāng yào chūmén, tā gānghǎo huílái le.I was just about to go out when he happened to come back.
我去办公室的时候，经理恰好不在。
Wǒ qù bàngōngshì de shíhou, jīnglǐ qiàhǎo bú zài.When I went to the office, the manager happened to be out.
哥哥喜欢热闹，弟弟却恰好相反，喜欢一个人待着。
Gēge xǐhuan rènao, dìdi què qiàhǎo xiāngfǎn, xǐhuan yí ge rén dāi zhe.The older brother likes a lively crowd, while the younger one is exactly the opposite and likes to be on his own.
我们赶到车站的时候，最后一班车刚好开走了。
Wǒmen gǎn dào chēzhàn de shíhou, zuìhòu yì bān chē gānghǎo kāi zǒu le.When we rushed to the station, the last bus had just pulled away.
Common mistakes
✗ 他刚好走了。 → ✓ 他刚走。 (for “he has just left”: 刚好 = “as it happened, exactly”; “just now, a moment ago” is 刚).
✗ 这双鞋很刚好。 → ✓ 这双鞋刚好。 (刚好 cannot be graded: no 很).