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 下楼 的时候 不 小心，一下子 摔倒 了。Tā xià lóu de shíhòu bù xiǎoxīn, yīxiàzi shuāidǎo le. She was not so careful that she fell when she went downstairs all at once.
• 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.
• 考 完 试 以后，他 一下子 放松 了 很 多。Kǎo wán shì yǐhòu, tā yīxiàzi fàngsōng le hěnduō. After he finished the exam, he relaxed a lot.
• 他 是 最 高 的，我 一下子 就 看到 他 了。Tā shì zuì gāo de, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù kàndào le. He is the tallest. I saw him all at once.
• 听 他 说 完，我 一下子 就 明白 了。Tīng tā shuō wán, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù míngbái le . After hearing him out, I understood it all at once.

See also

• Verb reduplication with yi
• Verb reduplication

Sources and further reading

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 126) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 206)→buy