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How to say “about to” in Chinese with 就要 (jiùyào)

(还有 (háiyǒu) + Time Period) + 就要 (jiùyào) + Verb Phrase + 了 (le)

就要 (jiù yào) — about to happen

HSK 2Adverbs

Rule structure

就要 (jiùyào) indicates that an action is about to happen soon and is often used with 了 (le). When a specific remaining time before the event is stated, 就要 (jiùyào) is normally used rather than 快要 (kuàiyào).

Examples

还有五分钟就要上课了。

Hái yǒu wǔ fēnzhōng jiù yào shàngkè le.

Class is about to start in five minutes.

还有两天就要考试了。

Háiyǒu liǎngtiān jiùyào kǎoshì le.

The exam is about to happen in two days.

还有三分钟就要下雨了。

Háiyǒu sānfēnzhōng jiùyào xiàyǔ le.

It is about to rain in three minutes.

Practice

Build the sentence

Drag the characters to put them in the correct order

Characters

Words from this rule

还

hái

Still, yet (adverb)

有

yǒu

To have

就

jiù

Immediately, exactly, then, and... (adverb)

要

yào

To want, need, to intend to do something

了

le

Particle (completed action or change of state)

五

wǔ

Five, 5

分钟

fēnzhōng

Minute

上课

shàng kè

To start class; to attend class

两

liǎng

Two, pair (before classifiers)

天

tiān

Day; sky

考试

kǎoshì

Exam, test

三

sān

Three, 3

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “about to happen” in Chinese with 就要?

Use the structure: (还有 (háiyǒu) + Time Period) + 就要 (jiùyào) + Verb Phrase + 了 (le). For example: 还有五分钟就要上课了。 — “Class is about to start in five minutes”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

还有五分钟就要上课了。 — “Class is about to start in five minutes”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 2.

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More HSK 2 grammar rules

就是 — emphasis with “just”

就是 (jiùshì) + Verb

就 — then

就 (jiù) + Verb Phrase

还 — still

Subj. + 还 (hái) + Verb Phrase / Adj.

再 — again in the future

再 (zài) + Verb

就 — early action

Subj. + Time + 就 (jiù) + Verb + 了 (le)

都 + time — already

都 (dōu) + Time + 了 (le)

还 — and also

还 (hái) + Verb

别 — negative commands

别 (bié) + Verb