就 — Adverb before the verb: the action lands promptly, right on the back of the first event or condition.

TSUMUGU · TBCL 2 (est.) · 語法

就 grammar point · tier 1 · 就 promptness (right after, right away)

· jiù

Adverb before the verb: the action lands promptly, right on the back of the first event or condition.

字源 FORM what the parts do

A tall hall (京) on the rise and 尤, the one that stands out: arrival at the high place. From the arrival comes the next step, already taken. 就 sits before the verb and lands it close behind what came first.

故事 STORY a scene to remember it by

One foot reaches the top stair, and the next foot is already down on the floor above.

字源記憶法

框 · Frame

[event A]，[subj] 就 [verb B]

觸 · Trigger

Two events close in time: the second rides in right behind the first.

序 · The move

1Place the first event or condition.Is there something the action lands behind?

2Put 就 right before the second verb, after its subject.Does 就 sit before the verb, not before the subject?

3Read it back for promptness.Does the second event arrive sooner than a listener would expect, not later?

例 · Examples

1你回到家get home就right then給我打電話call me。

Call me the moment you get home.

界 · Boundary

才

就 says sooner than expected, the step already taken; 才 says later than expected, the step still pending.

一…就…

一…就… pairs an overt trigger 一 with 就 for instant reflex; solo 就 lands the action promptly behind any preceding event, no 一 needed.

他就回家。 (no preceding event, reads as bare 'just') → 下課他就回家。 (right after class, he goes home)

你回到家給我就打電話。 → 你回到家就給我打電話。 (就 sits before the verb phrase, not buried inside it)

等很久就來了。 → 等很久才來了。 (long wait then later = 才, not 就)

English 'then' floats freely and can open a clause; 就 is fixed before the verb and inside the second clause, never standing alone at the front.

族 · Family

就Adverb before the verb: a small or single slice of the whole already tallies a count higher than a listener would expect.就Adverb before the verb on a singled-out subject: a general claim is laid down, and 就 points to this one case that runs against it.