TongTong
Sign in

刚巧 (gāng qiǎo) — happen to; by coincidence; it so happened that

Definition

An adverb meaning 'by coincidence' — something happens at just the right (or awkward) moment, and the speaker didn't plan it. Similar to 碰巧 and 恰好, with no real nuance difference; pick one and stick with it.

adverb
happen toby coincidenceit so happened that

Examples

  • 刚巧。
    Wǒ chū mén shí gāng qiǎo yù dào lǎo tóng xué.
    I happened to run into an old classmate when I went out.
  • 刚巧，。
    Xīng qī tiān tā gāng qiǎo méi shì, jiù yì qǐ qù le.
    He just happened to be free on Sunday, so he went along.
  • 刚巧。
    Wǒ men dào de shí hou gāng qiǎo kāi shǐ xià yǔ.
    It just started raining when we arrived.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

刚gāngjust
巧qiǎocoincidence

刚 just and 巧 coincidence combine to mean happening just by coincidence.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 剛; 刚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 剛 was made by combining a picture-like sign with a sign that gave its sound; the simplified 刚 is a later shorthand.

Open 刚 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
工工gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo巧qiǎo
Same sound today

巧 is made of 工 and 丂; 工 points to its meaning, and 丂 points to its sound.

Open 巧 →
Appears in
Time (Abstract)

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.