就要 (jiù yāo) — be about to; be on the point of

Definition

就要 marks that something is about to happen very soon — 'be on the point of / about to'. Pairs with 了 and is more urgent and immediate than 快 (soon) or 快要 (almost).

auxiliary verb

be about tobe on the point of

Examples

就要。
Huǒ chē jiù yāo kāi le.
The train is about to leave.
就要。
Wǒ men jiù yāo bì yè le.
We are about to graduate.
就要。
Chūn jié jiù yāo dào le.
Spring Festival is about to arrive.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

享享xiǎng
京京jīng

An older form paired 享, a temple, with 京, a tower, showing sacrifice at a high place; in 就 the temple part was dropped and a right part for going upward was added.

Open 就 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →