就在他要出門的時候,發生了強震。

Just as he was going out, there was a great earthquake.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

1 jiù
  1. (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then
  2. (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after
  3. (same as 就是 jiùshì) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly
  4. only; as little as
  5. as much as; as many as
  6. to approach; to move towards
  7. to undertake; to engage in
  8. (often followed by zhe) taking advantage of
  9. (of food) to go with
  10. with regard to; concerning
  11. (pattern: jiù ... ...) even if ... still ...
  12. (pattern: ... jiù ...) if not ... then must be ...
2 zài
  1. to exist; to be alive
  2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at
  3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
3
  1. (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his
  2. (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日 and 他人 rén)
=4 yāo (bound form) to demand; to coerce
=4 yào
  1. to want; to need; to ask for
  2. will; shall; about to
  3. need to; should
  4. if (same as 要是 yàoshi)
  5. (bound form) important
=4 yǎo
  1. (archaic) alternative form of (yǎo)
  2. alternative form of (yǎo)
  3. used in 要褭要袅
5 出門 chūmén
  1. to go out
  2. to leave home
  3. to go on a journey
  4. away from home
  5. (of a woman) to get married
=6 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 de "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. or di in poetry and songs
=6 a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 shì)
=6 really and truly
=6 (bound form) bull's-eye; target
7 時候 shíhou
  1. time
  2. length of time
  3. moment
  4. period
8 發生 shēng to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out
=9 le
  1. (completed action marker)
  2. (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
  3. (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)
=9 liǎo
  1. to finish
  2. (used with or after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了 wàngbuliǎo "cannot forget")
  3. (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as or ) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least
  4. to understand clearly (variant of liǎo)
=9 liǎo
  1. (of eyes) bright
  2. clear-sighted
  3. to understand clearly
=9 liào unofficial variant of liào
10 強震 qiángzhèn
  1. powerful earthquake
  2. abbr. for 強烈地震