cái

Usages of cái

 下午xiàwǔ cái 下班xiàbāntā xiàwǔ cái xiàbān.
She doesn’t get off work until the afternoon.
今天jīntiān 中午zhōngwǔ 以后yǐhòu  cái yǒu 时间shíjiānjīntiān zhōngwǔ yǐhòu wǒ cái yǒu shíjiān.
I only have time after noon today.
 晚上wǎnshang hěn wǎn cái 睡觉shuìjiàotā wǎnshang hěn wǎn cái shuìjiào.
He goes to sleep very late at night.
 早上zǎoshang hěn zǎo 起床qǐchuáng, 中午zhōngwǔ 以后yǐhòu cái  cháwǒ zǎoshang hěn zǎo qǐchuáng, zhōngwǔ yǐhòu cái hē chá.
I get up very early in the morning; I only drink tea after noon.
 hěn 认真rènzhēn de 学习xuéxí, 下午xiàwǔ cái  chátā hěn rènzhēn de xuéxí, xiàwǔ cái hē chá.
He studies very seriously; he only drinks tea in the afternoon.
我们wǒmen 今天jīntiān hěn wǎn cái huí jiāwǒmen jīntiān hěn wǎn cái huí jiā.
We didn’t go home until very late today.
我们wǒmen 一直yìzhí zài 学习xuéxí, 下午xiàwǔ cái chī 午饭wǔfànwǒmen yìzhí zài xuéxí, xiàwǔ cái chī wǔfàn.
We were studying the whole time and only ate lunch in the afternoon.
我们wǒmen 今天jīntiān hěn wǎn cái 做完zuòwán 工作gōngzuòwǒmen jīntiān hěn wǎn cái zuòwán gōngzuò.
We didn’t finish the work until very late today.
 走过zǒuguò 很多hěnduō tiáo 马路mǎlù, cái dào 公园gōngyuánwǒ zǒuguò hěnduō tiáo mǎlù, cái dào gōngyuán.
I had to walk across many streets before getting to the park.
今天jīntiān 上午shàngwǔ  zài 公司gōngsī 开会kāihuì, 下午xiàwǔ cái 有空yǒukòngjīntiān shàngwǔ wǒ zài gōngsī kāihuì, xiàwǔ cái yǒukòng.
This morning I had a meeting at the company; I only have free time in the afternoon.
 饿è le hěn jiǔ 以后yǐhòu cái chī 晚饭wǎnfàn, shuō 自己zìjǐ néng chī 下去xiàqu hěn duō 东西dōngxitā è le hěn jiǔ yǐhòu cái chī wǎnfàn, shuō zìjǐ néng chī xiàqu hěn duō dōngxi.
He didn’t eat dinner until he’d been hungry for a long time, and said he could eat a lot.

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How do tones work in Chinese?
Mandarin Chinese has four main tones plus a neutral tone. The same syllable can mean completely different things depending on the tone — for example, "mā" (mother), "má" (hemp), "mǎ" (horse), and "mà" (scold). Mastering tones is essential for being understood.

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