Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"

一下子(yīxiàzi) can be used as a adverb, meaning "all at once". It has to come at the beginning of the sentence.

Structure

一下子(yīxiàzi) is a very informal expression to describe how fast things happened or changed for some reason. In colloquial Chinese, you can also say "一下".

Subj. + 一下子 + Verb Phrase + 了

Subj. + 一下子 + 就 + Verb Phrase + 了

Examples

• 她 太 紧张 了，一下子 想 不 起来 了。Tā tài jǐnzhāng le, yīxiàzi xiǎng bù qǐlái le. She was too nervous to remember it all at once.
• 听 他 说 完，我 一下子 都 明白 了。Tīng tā shuō wán, wǒ yīxiàzi dōu míngbái le . After hearing him out, I understood all of it all at once.