就
(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly; only; as little as; as much as; as many as; to approach; to move towards; to undertake; to engage in; (often followed by 著|着[zhe5]) taking advantage of; (of food) to go with; with regard to; concerning; (bound form) to reach; to attain (as in 一蹴而就[yi1 cu4 er2 jiu4]); (pattern: 就[jiu4] ... 也[ye3] ...) even if ... still ...; (pattern: 不[bu4] ... 就[jiu4] ...) if not ... then must be ...
How 就 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
尤 (semantic, “specialty”) + 京 (phonetic, jīng)
How to remember it
at once · Heisig RSH #332
Frankenpooch + capitol building
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 京
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 京 (jīng) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 京 sound component | jīng | capital city |
| 惊 | jīng | to frighten, to startle; surprise, alarm |
| 凉 | liáng | cool, cold; disheartened |
| 琼 | qióng | jade; rare, precious; elegant |
| 鲸 | jīng | whale |
| 掠 | lüè | to pillage, to ransack |
| 椋 | liáng | fruit |
| 谅 | liàng | to excuse, to forgive; to guess, to presume |
| 晾 | liàng | to air-dry; to sun-dry |
| 黥 | qíng | to tattoo; to brand the face of criminals |
| 辌 | liáng | carriage, hearse |
Words containing 就
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 动不动就生气 | dòng bu dòng jiù shēng qì | to be quick to take offense; to have a short fuse |
| 不作死就不会死 | bù zuò sǐ jiù bù huì sǐ | serves you right for doing sth so stupid (Internet slang) |
| 一学就会 | yī xué jiù huì | to pick up (a skill) in a very short time; to take to sth like a duck to water |
| 不明就里 | bù míng jiù lǐ | not to understand the situation; unaware of the ins and outs |
| 一点就通 | yī diǎn jiù tōng | a hint is all that is needed; understanding each other without the need to explain |
| 高不成低不就 | gāo bù chéng dī bù jiù | can't reach the high or accept the low (idiom); not good enough for a high post, but too p… |
| 就业机会 | jiù yè jī huì | employment opportunity; job opening |
| 就地正法 | jiù dì zhèng fǎ | to execute on the spot (idiom); summary execution; to carry out the law on the spot |
| 入口就化 | rù kǒu jiù huà | to melt in one's mouth |
| 不知就里 | bù zhī jiù lǐ | unaware of the inner workings; naive; unwitting |
| 就业安定费 | jiù yè ān dìng fèi | Employment Stability Fee (Taiwan), a minimum monthly fee for employing foreign workers |
| 就事论事 | jiù shì lùn shì | to discuss sth on its own merits; to judge the matter as it stands |
| 不空成就佛 | Bù kōng chéng jiù fó | Amoghasiddhi Buddha |
| 高低不就 | gāo dī bù jiù | can't reach the high or accept the low (idiom); not good enough for a high post, but too p… |
| 不是鱼死就是网破 | bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò | lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom); fig. it's a life-and-death struggl… |
| 说干就干 | shuō gàn jiù gàn | to do what needs to be done, without delay |
| 团结就是力量 | tuán jié jiù shì lì liang | unity is strength (revolutionary slogan and popular song of 1943) |
| 见好就收 | jiàn hǎo jiù shōu | (idiom) to quit while one is ahead; to know when to stop |
| 功成名就 | gōng chéng míng jiù | to win success and recognition (idiom) |
| 就学 | jiù xué | to attend school |