正好
zhènghǎo
Meaning
正好 has two common uses: 1. Adjective — “just right”, “exactly”, “perfectly suitable”. 2. Adverb — “just in time”, “just happened to”, “by coincidence”.
1. 正好 as an adjective
As an adjective, 正好 means something is exactly right in time, quantity, size or degree — neither too much nor too little, neither too early nor too late.
苹果八块五，西瓜十一块五，正好二十块。
The apples are ¥8.5 and the watermelon ¥11.5 — exactly ¥20 together.
你来得正好，我的钱包不见了，借我点儿钱吧。
You came at just the right time. I've lost my wallet — could you lend me some money?
2. 正好 as an adverb
As an adverb, 正好 means “just happened to”, “just in time”, or “it works out perfectly”. It often shows two events coinciding, or ideal timing.
我们下午要去踢足球，正好一起去吧。
We're going to play football this afternoon, so we can go together.
我妹妹出生那天，正好下雪，所以爸爸妈妈叫她“小雪”。
It happened to snow the day my little sister was born, so my parents named her “Xiao Xue”.
正好 vs. 刚
我刚回来。
I just came back.
你来得正好。
You came at just the right time.
刚 → “just now”, emphasising that something happened recently.
正好 → “just right”, “just in time”, “by coincidence”.
Quick rule
正好 + number / quantity → exactly
正好二十块。
Exactly ¥20.
正好 + verb → just in time / by coincidence
正好一起去吧。
The timing's perfect — let's go together.
正好 has two meanings:
just right / exactly
just in time / happened to / by coincidence