TongTongbeta同通
Sign in
PrepositionsHSK 4

Expressing "all the way until" with 直到

直到 ... 才 ... means 'not until' and emphasizes that an action only took place at a specific point. 直到 introduces the time or event, and 才 marks the delayed action. Ensure 才 appears after the time phrase, not before 直到.

Structure

直到 + Time/Event ， + Subj. + 才 + ...
Subj. + 直到 + Time/Event + 才 + ...
The subject can appear before 直到 or after the time phrase.

Examples

  • 直到十二点半，我才做完作业。
    Zhídào shí'èr diǎn bàn, wǒ cái zuò wán zuòyè.
    It wasn't until twelve thirty in the morning that I finished my homework.
  • 直到半个月以后，我的感冒才好。
    Zhídào bàn gè yuè yǐhòu, wǒ de gǎnmào cái hǎo.
    It took me half a month to recover from the cold.
  • 她直到十八岁才见到亲生父母。
    Tā zhídào shíbā suì cái jiàndào qīnshēng fùmǔ.
    It wasn't until she was eighteen that she met her biological parents.
  • 我直到大学毕业才开始独立生活。
    Wǒ zhídào dàxué bìyè cái kāishǐ dúlì shēnghuó.
    It wasn't until I graduated from college that I started living independently.
  • 直到去了北京，他才知道一个人在大城市多辛苦。
    Zhídào qù le Běijīng, tā cái zhīdào yīgèrén zài dà chéngshì duō xīnkǔ.
    It wasn't until he went to Beijing that he understood how hard it is to be alone in a big city.

Words that use this