Chinese word

就要

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiù yào

Meaning

  • adverbsoon

Example

火车就要开了。huǒ chē jiù yào kāi le

The train is leaving soon.

Illustration for 就要 (soon)

More examples

电影就要开始了。diàn yǐng jiù yào kāi shǐ le

The movie is about to start.

Core concept

A near-future event feels close enough to be the next thing that happens.

Common phrases

  • 就要开始jiù yào kāi shǐ

    about to begin

  • 就要到了jiù yào dào le

    about to arrive

  • 就要下雨jiù yào xià yǔ

    about to rain

Similar words

马上mǎ shàng: Shows that an action or change happens right away.
快要kuài yào: Presents an approaching event as happening soon in a gentle way.
立刻lì kè: Shows that an action is carried out immediately and without delay.
即将jí jiāng: States in formal writing that an event is about to happen.

Definition in Chinese

用于表示动作或状态即将在短时间内发生，含有临近性与一定的必然性，既可表示事实性预告，也可用于催促或表达期待。yòng yú biǎo shì dòng zuò huò zhuàng tài jí jiāng zài duǎn shí jiān nèi fā shēng hán yǒu lín jìn xìng yǔ yí dìng de bì rán xìng jì kě biǎo shì shì shí xìng yù gào yě kě yòng yú cuī cù huò biǎo dá qī dài

Word origin

就 (jiù, "then/already") + 要 (yào, "be about to") presents the next event as both expected and close at hand.

Usage tips

  • In a station or school announcement, this word can signal that the next step is nearly starting, so it often sounds like a timely notice rather than a description of a distant plan.

Other meanings

  • immediatelyadverb

Opposites

  • 还没hái méinot yetadverb

Word lists with this word