Not until / only then with 才

Structure … + 才 + Verb

才 (cái) marks that something happens LATER or with MORE effort than expected: 他三十岁才结婚 = "he didn’t get married until thirty"; 我等了一个小时他才来 = "I waited an hour before he came". It’s nearly the opposite of 就 ("early / right away"). After 才 you do NOT add 了.

Examples

他tā三sān十shí岁suì才cái结jié婚hūn。
He didn’t get married until thirty.
我wǒ等děng了le一yī个ge小xiǎo时shí他tā才cái来lái。
I waited an hour before he came.
现xiàn在zài你nǐ才cái来lái。
Only now do you show up.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.