Expressing "some" with "yixie"

In order to express "some" or "a few," you can use 一些 (yīxiē). To use it in this way, it is placed before the noun it modifies. It can modify the subject or the object.

Note: The pinyin for 一些 is written "yīxiē" but pronounced "yìxiē" due to a tone change rule.

Structure

一些 + Noun

Examples

• 妈妈 去 超市 买 了 一些 水果。 Māma qù chāoshì mǎi le yīxiē shuǐguǒ. Mom went to the supermarket and bought some fruit.
• 上 个 周末 他 买了 一些 衣服。 Shàng ge zhōumò tā mǎi le yīxiē yīfu. He bought some clothes last weekend.
• 我们 很快 会 见到 一些 新 同事。Wǒmen hěn kuài huì jiàndào yīxiē xīn tóngshì. We're going to see some new coworkers very soon.
• 你 饿 不 饿？这里 有 一些 吃的。 Nǐ è bù è?Zhèlǐ yǒu yīxiē chīde. Are you hungry or not? There is some food here.
• 下课 以后， 学生们 问 了 一些 问题。 Xiàkè yǐhòu, xuéshengmen wèn le yīxiē wèntí. After class, the students asked some questions.
• 给 我 一些 时间，好吗？ Gěi wǒ yīxiē shíjiān, hǎoma? Give me some time, OK?
• 他 给 我 带 了 一些 书。 Tā gěi wǒ dài le yīxiē shū. He brought me some books.
• 你 可以 借 我 一些 钱 吗？Nǐ kěyǐ jiè wǒ yīxiē qián ma? Can you lend me some money?
• 你 想 在 咖啡 里 放 一些 糖 吗 ？ Nǐ xiǎng zài kāfēi lǐ fàng yīxiē táng ma? Do you want to put some sugar in your coffee?
• 我 在 中国 的 时候，去 过 一些 很 漂亮 的 地方。 Wǒ zài Zhōngguó de shíhou, qù guo yīxiē piàoliang de dìfang.When I was in China, I went to some beautiful places.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 →buy