Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"

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

Used as "all at once"

Structure

一下子 (yīxiàzi) is a very informal expression to describe how fast things happened. In colloquial Chinese, "一下" is also used.

Subj. + 一下子 + Verb + 了

Examples

• 天气 一下 变 冷 了 。Tiānqì yīxià biàn lěng le.The weather is suddenly getting cold.
• 她 下楼 的时候 一下子 摔倒 了。Tā xiàlóu de shíhou yīxiàzi shuāidǎo le.She suddenly fell when she went downstairs.
• 我们 说话 的 时候 ，她 一下子 哭 了 起来 。Wǒmen shuōhuà de shíhou, tā yīxiàzi kū le qǐlai.She burst into tears when we were talking.
• 那个 高高 的 男人 一下子 抢走 了 我 的 包 。 Nàge gāogāo de nánrén yīxiàzi qiǎngzǒu le wǒ de bāo.That tall guy took my bag out of nowhere.
• 她 上 个 月 一下 瘦 了 十 斤 。 One "jin" = 500gTā shàng gè yuè yīxià shòu le shí jīn.She lost ten jin the first last month.

Used with 就

Structure

Subj. + 一下子 + 就 + Verb + 了

Examples

• 听 他 说 完，我 一下子 就 明白 了 。Tīng tā shuō wán, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù míngbai le.After hearing him out, I understood everything all at once.
• 他 是 最 高 的，我 一下 就 看到 他 了 。Tā shì zuì gāo de, wǒ yīxià jiù kàndào tā le.He is the tallest. I spotted him right away.
• 拍 完 那 部 电影 以后，他 一下子 就 出名 了 。Pāi wán nà bù diànyǐng yǐhòu, tā yīxiàzi jiù chūmíng le.He became very famous soon after that movie.
• 他 的 新 书 很 受 欢迎，一下 就 卖 了 三 千 本 。Tā de xīn shū hěn shòu huānyíng, yīxià jiù mài le sān qiān běn.His new book is very popular. Three thousand books were sold all at once.
• 老师 给 了 我 一点 提示，我 一下子 就 想 起来 了 。Lǎoshī gěi le wǒ yīdiǎn tíshì, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù xiǎng qǐlai le.The teacher gave me a little hint. I recalled it right away.

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