刚、刚才、刚刚
The three words has similarities and differences.
刚 is an adverb (= a short time ago, could be 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, or even 1 year. As long as it feels recent).
刚才 is a time noun (= a short time ago, could be 5 minutes, 1 hour).
刚刚 is the combination of 刚才 and 刚刚.
Just Now
Subject + 刚 + Verb + 了Subject + 刚才 + Verb + 了Subject + 刚刚 + Verb + 了刚才 + Subject + Verb + 了刚刚 + Subject + Verb + 了刚 + Subject + Verb + 了
他刚才哭了。(He was crying a moment ago but he has stopped.)= 他刚刚哭了。= 他刚哭了。= 刚才他哭了。(time can be before subject)= 刚刚他哭了。= 刚他哭了。(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)He was crying just now.
你刚才说什么了？= 你刚刚说什么了？= 你刚说什么了？= 刚才你说什么了？= 刚刚你说什么了？= 刚你说什么了？(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)What did you just say?
= 谁刚才来了？= 谁刚刚来了？= 谁刚来了？= 刚才谁来了？= 刚刚谁来了？= 刚谁来了？(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)Who came just now?
negative form:
我刚没说什么。= 我刚才没说什么。= 我刚刚没说什么。= 刚才我没说什么。= 刚刚我没说什么。= 刚我没说什么。(very spoken, grammatically incorrect.)I didn’t say anything just now.
刚才的 + verb刚刚的 + verb
刚 can’t be used this way.
刚才的事情太让人生气了。What just happened is really upsetting.
A: 你刚才去哪儿了？Where did you go just now?B: 我去厕所了。刚回来。I went to the restroom. I just got back.A: 刚才的声音你听到了吗？Did you hear the sound just now.B: 刚刚听到了。怎么了？I heard it a moment ago. what happened?
Just Started Doing
刚 + verb (without 了)刚刚 + verb (without 了)
刚才…了 is rarely used here because 了 means the action has completed
他刚到。(This suggests that not only did he just get here, but he is still here.)= 他刚刚到。= 他刚才到了。(understandable, but not recommended)He just arrived.
我们昨天刚到。= 我们昨天刚刚到。= 我们昨天刚才到了。 (刚才 can’t represent a day ago.)We just arrived yesterday.
天刚晴。= 天刚刚晴。The sky just became clear.Note: 天刚才晴了 is ambiguous because 了 also means the action has completed. It is usually interpreted as “The sky was clear, but it is no longer clear now."
我刚看书。= 我刚刚看书。I just started reading book.Note: 我刚才看书了 means I’ve finished reading. I’m not reading it now.
With Time
Subject + 刚 + Verb (+ Obj.) + DurationSubject + 刚刚 + Verb (+ Obj.) + Duration
= Just did something … ago.
This can also be expressed as:
Subject + 才 + Verb (+ Obj.) + DurationSubject + 只 + Verb (+ Obj.) + DurationSubject + 仅仅 + Verb (+ Obj.) + DurationExamples:
我刚认识他十天。= 我刚刚认识他十天。I just met her ten days ago.you can also say:我才认识他十天我只认识他十天我仅仅认识他十天
我刚工作半年。= 我刚刚工作半年。I just started working half a year ago.
我的车刚买两天，开的时候小心点。我的车刚刚买两天，开的时候小心点。I just bought the car two days ago. Be careful when you drive.
When I first time did something
刚 + verb + 的时候刚刚 + verb + 的时候
我刚到上海的时候，谁都不认识。= 我刚刚到上海的时候，谁都不认识。I didn’t know anyone when I had just arrived in Shanghai.
我刚开车的时候，很紧张。= 我刚刚开车的时候，很紧张。When I first drove, I was very nervous.
Compare
句子刚刚才刚刚我____给你打了一个电话✔✔我昨天____到上海，有点累✔✔✔我刚到上海一天，有点累✔✔不好意思，____我太忙了✔✔不好意思，我____太忙了✔✔✔Found an issue? Report here.