Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"

一下子 (yīxiàzi) can be used as an adverb meaning "all at once." Because it inherently encompasses a sense of "completion," it's typically going to be followed by a 了 (le) later in the sentence.

Used as "All at Once"

一下子 (yīxiàzi) is a very informal expression to describe how fast things happened. It usually touches upon sudden or severe changes in a very short amount of time.

Structure

Subj. + 一下子 + Predicate + 了

Although 一下子 (yīxiàzi) is already quite informal, in colloquial Chinese 一下 (yīxià) can also be used to express the same thing.

Examples

• 天气 一下子 变 冷 了 。Tiānqì yīxiàzi biàn lěng le.The weather suddenly got cold.
• 他 一下子 吃 了 三 碗 米饭 。Tā yīxiàzi chī le sān wǎn mǐfàn.He ate three bowls of rice all at once.
• 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.
• 她 上 个 月 一下子 瘦 了 十 斤 。One "jin" = 500gTā shàng gè yuè yīxiàzi shòu le shí jīn.Last month, she lost ten jin all at once.

Used as "Soon and Naturally"

一下子 (yíxiàzi), followed with 就( jiù), usually implies that things happen very quickly, naturally and easily.

Structure

Subj. + 一下(子) + 就 + Predicate + 了

Examples

• 老师 进来 以后 ，大家 一下子 就 安静 了 。Lǎoshī jìnlái yǐhòu, dàjiā yīxiàzi jiù ānjìng le.Everyone became silent after the teacher came in.
• 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 ，他 一下子 就 出名 了 。Pāi wán nà bù diànyǐng, tā yīxiàzi jiù chūmíng le.He became very famous soon after that movie came out.
• 看到 那 张 照片 ，我 一下子 就 想 起来 了 。Kàndào nà zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù xiǎng qǐlái le.It all flashed back to me when I saw that picture.

See also

• Verb reduplication with yi
• Verb reduplication

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 126) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 206) [ →buy]