HSK 3 Modal Adverbs (语气副词): 当然, 其实, 终于, 才, and 就

What Are Modal Adverbs and Where Do They Go?

The supplied Level 3 outline lists 当然、其实、终于、才2、才3 and 就4 under 语气副词. These uses express attitudes such as treating something as obvious, correcting an assumption, marking a culmination, or emphasizing a small quantity. Time and degree expressions can also reflect a speaker’s expectations; the categories do not divide objective facts from subjective feelings.

Word order separates these adverbs into two syntactic patterns. The two-syllable adverbs 当然 and 其实 are flexible: they usually sit between the subject and the predicate, but they can also appear before the subject at the start of a clause to frame the whole sentence. The adverb 终于 normally stays between the subject and the predicate, though it occasionally precedes the subject in narrative writing.

For the uses of 才 and 就 shown here, place them before the predicate or quantity being evaluated: 这双鞋才一百块钱. Other adverbs or negatives can intervene before the main verb, as in 我就一定不去. Learn this as a useful pattern rather than a rule requiring immediate adjacency to every verb.

Expressing Attitude, Reality, and Relief: 当然, 其实, and 终于

These three adverbs help manage the listener's expectations in conversation.

• 当然 indicates that something is natural, self-evident, or a matter of course ('of course', 'naturally'). It can also stand alone as a one-word affirmative reply to a question.
• 其实 introduces what is actually true ('actually', 'in fact'). It does not always require a harsh contradiction; speakers often use it gently to add an honest detail or correct a mild assumption.
• 终于 marks a result reached after waiting, effort, or a developing process. It often conveys relief, but an outcome need not be welcome: 他终于还是离开了 can describe a departure the speaker did not want.

Common Attitudinal Uses of 才 and 就

The outline lists numbered entries 才2、才3 and 就4, without defining each numbered sense on this page. Below are common attitudinal uses of 才 and 就, not a claim that the explanations reproduce an official numbered dictionary definition. The numbers are entry labels, not part of the pronunciation.

• 才 meaning only: Before an amount, price, age, or clock time, it can present the figure as low or early relative to expectations. 只 also means only, but 才 often makes that evaluation more noticeable; 只 is not inherently free of speaker attitude.
• Emphatic 才: Patterns such as 才不……呢 strongly reject a suggestion or assumption: 我才不买呢! means I certainly will not buy it.
• Emphatic 就 can stress a definite choice or insistence: 我就要这双鞋 means this is the pair I want. It has other uses too, including linking a condition to its consequence; not every 就 has a resolute tone.

Key Contrasts and a Common Learner Mistake

Compare 八点才到, arriving only at eight and later than expected, with 才八点, it is only eight and still early. The order and context distinguish the readings. The numeric sentence 这双鞋才一百块钱 does not need 了, but do not turn this into a ban on 了 anywhere in a sentence containing 才.

Do not use 终于 merely to mean lastly when listing points; use 最后 for the final item. 终于 instead highlights the culmination of a process. It can describe welcome or unwelcome outcomes, so the distinction is not simply positive versus negative.

A frequent word-order error occurs when English speakers translate 'only' at the end of a phrase or place 才 after the number phrase it modifies. In Mandarin, 才 must stand directly before the numerical predicate.

Frequently asked questions