刚 (gāng) means Strong (just - barely). Below are 18 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
他 刚 走，你可以给他打电话。
Tā gāng zǒu, nǐ kěyǐ gěi tā dǎ diànhuà.
He just left; you can call him.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 刚
刚 才下了一阵雨。
Gāngcái xià le yí zhèn yǔ.
There was a shower of rain just now.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 阵
刚 才是谁打的电话？
Gāngcái shì shéi dǎ de diànhuà?
Who was that on the phone just now?
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 刚才
刚 出锅的馒头很香。
Gāng chū guō de mántou hěn xiāng.
Steamed buns fresh from the pot smell wonderful.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 馒头
他 刚 换了四条新轮胎。
Tā gāng huàn le sì tiáo xīn lúntāi.
He has just fitted four new tyres.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 轮胎
我们抵达山顶时天 刚 亮。
Wǒmen dǐdá shāndǐng shí tiān gāng liàng.
It was just getting light when we reached the summit.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 抵达
刚 毕业时他对未来很茫然。
Gāng bìyè shí tā duì wèilái hěn mángrán.
Fresh out of school he felt quite at sea about the future.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 茫然
看他的模样像是 刚 跑完步。
Kàn tā de múyàng xiàng shì gāng pǎo wán bù.
By the look of him he has just been running.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 模样
刚 到新城市时他感到很孤独。
Gāng dào xīn chéngshì shí tā gǎndào hěn gūdú.
When he first came to the new city he felt very lonely.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 孤独
厨房里飘着 刚 烘好的面包香。
Chúfáng lǐ piāozhe gāng hōng hǎo de miànbāo xiāng.
The smell of freshly baked bread drifted through the kitchen.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 烘
他们请了一位保姆照顾 刚 出生的孩子。
Tāmen qǐng le yí wèi bǎomǔ zhàogù gāng chūshēng de háizi.
They hired a nanny to look after their newborn.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 保姆
Reading these is one thing; producing 刚 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
可是我们 刚 出门，天就黑了。
kěshì wǒmen gāng chū mén, tiān jiù hēi le / liǎo / liào.
But the moment we stepped out, the sky went dark.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · A Rainy Day
刚 开始的时候，我觉得有点儿累。
gāng kāishǐ de / dì shíhou, wǒ juéde yǒudiǎn ér lèi / léi / lěi.
At first I found that a bit tiring.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My Chinese Teacher
他笑着说：“没关系，我也 刚 到。”
tā xiào zhāo / zhaó / zhe / zhù / zhuó shuō:" méiguānxi, wǒ yě gāng dào."
He smiled and said, "Never mind — I've only just got here myself."
Graded reader · HSK 2 · Late for Work
刚 开始休息的时候，我特别不习惯。
gāng kāishǐ xiūxi de / dì shíhou, wǒ tèbié bù xíguàn.
At first I found resting extremely uncomfortable.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Facing Pressure
刚 开始说的时候，我心里很不舒服。
gāng kāishǐ shuō de / dì shíhou, wǒ xīnlǐ hěn bù shūfu.
The first few times I said it, it felt awful.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Learning to Say No
Words that contain 刚
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 刚
How is 刚 used in a sentence?
This page shows 18 sentences using 刚 (gāng, "Strong (just - barely)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 刚 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 刚 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Is 刚 an HSK word?
Yes — 刚 is on the official HSK 4 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 4 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 刚?
The dictionary page for 刚 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 刚, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 4 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
Another word
Chinese, pinyin or English. Tone marks optional.