Events in quick succession with "yi... jiu..."

This pattern tells us that as soon as one thing happened, then another thing happened immediately afterwards. You mark the two events with 一 (yī) and 就 (jiù).

Expressing “as soon as” with 一……就……

Structure

The pattern involves two different events, the first preceded by "一," and then the second event, which follows in quick succession, preceded by 就.

Subj. 一 + Event 1，就 + Event 2

The subjects of the two "Events" can be the same, but they don't have to be. If they're the same, then you don't need to repeat the subject for the second one.

Examples

• 老师 一 进来 大家 就 不 说话 了。Lǎoshī yī jìnlái dàjiā jiù bù shuōhuà le.As soon as the teacher came in, everyone stopped talking.
• 他 一 下课 就 跑 出去 玩 了。Tā yī xiàkè jiù pǎo chūqù wán le.As soon the class is over, he went out to play.
• 老板 一 走 他 就 开始 抽烟 了。Lǎobǎn yī zǒu tā jiù kāishǐ chōuyān le.As soon as the boss left, he started smoking.
• 他 一 下班 就 回家 了。Tā yī xiàbān jiù huíjiā le.As soon as he got off work, he went home.
• 你 能 不 能 不要 一 到 家 就 睡觉？Nǐ néngbu néng bùyào yī dào jiā jiù shuìjiào?Could you please not go to sleep right after you arrived at home?

Expressing “every time” with 一……就……

Structure

In this case, 一 means "every time," followed by some certain condition, which could be the reason or the cause of what happened after 就. The subjects of the two "Events" are usually the same.

Subj. 一 ……，就 ……

Examples

• 我 一 想到 这 件 事 就 不 高兴。Wǒ yī xiǎngdào zhè jiàn shì jiù bù gāoxìng.Every time I think about this, I get upset.
• 她 一 看到 她 喜欢 的 男生 就 紧张 。Tā yī kàndào tā xǐhuan de nánshēng jiù jǐnzhāng.Every time she sees a boy she likes, get nervous.
• 老师 一 生气 就 脸红。Lǎoshī yī shēngqì jiù liǎn hóng.Every time the teacher gets angry, his face turns red.
• 她 一 吃 火锅 就 拉肚子。Tā yī chī huǒguō jiù lā dùzi.Every time she eats hotpot, she has diarrhea.
• 一 到 买单 的 时候 他 就 去 上 厕所。Yī dào mǎidān de shíhou, jiù qù shàng cèsuǒ.Every time we need to pay for the bill, he just goes to the bathroom.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 184) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 240) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp.169) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 206-7) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 88-9) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 85-7) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 173, 189)→buy