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Very soon; immediately after the present moment; imminent.
暴风雨马上就要来了。
The storm is coming imminently.
他马上就要到机场了。
He's arriving at the airport imminently.
Often used in spoken Chinese to emphasize immediacy. Can be shortened to '马上' in casual speech, but '马上就要' adds stronger emphasis on the impending action.
When used in questions, '马上就要' often expresses surprise or urgency about an impending event. Example: '你马上就要走了吗？' (Are you leaving imminently?)
Chinese frequently layers temporal markers ('马上' + '就' + '要') to create a sense of urgency. This is more emphatic than English's 'about to' or 'imminently'.
The phrase combines three time-related words: '马上' (immediately) + '就' (then) + '要' (to be going to). '马上' originally meant 'on horseback' (马) 'above' (上), implying urgent movement. Over time, it evolved to mean 'immediately'. '就要' reinforces the imminence. The structure reflects Chinese's preference for layered temporal markers to emphasize immediacy.
1. '马上就要' is stronger than '马上' alone and implies the action is imminent with no delay. 2. Often used with '了' at the end of the sentence to mark the impending change. 3. In formal writing, '即将' is preferred, while '马上就要' is more common in speech.