Expressing "all along" with "yizhi"

一直 (yīzhí) literally translates to "one straight." 一直 (yīzhí) can be used to express that you are doing something continuously, have been continuously doing something since a certain time, and something will continuously happen in the future.

Structure

This structure expresses the continuation of an action or a circumstance.

Subj. + 一直 + Predicate

Also note that although 一直 (yīzhí) means "continuously," it is frequently more natural to use the word "always" in the English translation.

Examples

• 老板 一直 很 忙 。("Always" is more natural than "continuously.") Lǎobǎn yīzhí hěn máng. The boss is always very busy.
• 北京 的 空气 一直 很 不 好。 Běijīng de kōngqì yīzhí hěn bù hǎo. The air in Beijing has been bad for a while.
• 她 一直 很 喜欢 上海。 Tā yīzhí hěn xǐhuan Shànghǎi. She has always liked Shanghai a lot.
• 爸爸 一直 很 爱 妈妈。 Bàba yīzhí hěn ài māma. Dad has always loved mom a lot!
• 你 会 一直 学 中文 吗？ Nǐ huì yīzhí xué Zhōngwén ma? Will you always continue studying Chinese?
• 我 男朋友 一直在 中国 做 英文 老师 。 Wǒ nánpéngyou yīzhí zài Zhōngguó zuò Yīngwén lǎoshī. My boyfriend's always been a teacher in China.
• 昨天 晚上 从 七点 到 十点 ， 我 一直 在 做作业。 Zuótiān wǎnshang cóng qīdiǎn dào shídiǎn, wǒ yīzhí zài zuò zuòyè. From 7pm to 10pm yesterday, I was continuously doing homework.
• 18 岁 以后 ， 他 一直 一个人 住。 Shíbā suì yǐhòu, tā yīzhí yīgèrén zhù. Since he was 18, he has always lived alone.
• 我 一直 在 现在 的 公司 里 工作。 Wǒ yīzhí zài xiànzài de gōngsī lǐ gōngzuò. I've always worked at the company I work at now.
• 从 这里 一直 走 ， 你 会 看 到 一 个 大 公园。 Cóng zhèlǐ yīzhí zǒu, nǐ huì kàndào yī gè dà gōngyuán. From here keep walking straight, you will see a big park.

See also

• "Always" with "zongshi"
• "Since the beginning" with "yixiang"
• Comparing "yizhi" and "yixiang"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 610) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 308-9) →buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (p. 123) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 1601) →buy