刚才
gāng cái · HSK 2
(just) a moment ago
⏰ 刚 (just/firm) + 才 (only/just now) = just a moment ago
刚 means 'just' or 'just now'; 才 also carries the sense of 'only just'. Together they double down on the 'just now' meaning, referring to a moment that has only recently passed.
刚 — knife 刂 + net/ridge 岡 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The knife radical 刂 carries the meaning of something hard or sharp, while 岡 (a mountain ridge) supplies the sound. The original sense was 'hard, firm,' as in a blade's edge, which extended to 'strong, unyielding' and later the adverbial sense 'just now, just barely.'
才 — single component 才 (one stroke 一 + 亅 + 丿)
才 originally pictured a sprout breaking through the ground, symbolizing budding talent or potential. Over time it came to mean 'talent, ability' and also 'just now,' since a sprout marks a fresh beginning. It is itself a basic component used in characters like 材 and 财.