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

Structure

Subj. + 一下子 + Predicate + 了

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.As she went down the stairs, she suddenly fell.
• 我们 说话 的 时候 ，她 一下子 哭 了 。Wǒmen shuōhuà de shíhou, tā yīxiàzi kū le.She burst into tears when we were talking.
• 她 上 个 月 一下子 瘦 了 很 多 。Tā shàng gè yuè yīxiàzi shòu le hěn duō.Last month, she lost a lot of weight all at once.

Used as "Soon and Naturally"

一下子 (yíxiàzi), followed with 就 (jiù), usually implies that things happened very quickly, naturally, and easily. Again, 一下 (yīxià) can also be used instead of 一下子 (yīxiàzi).

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 一下子 就 看到 他 了 。Tā shì zuì gāo de, wǒ yīxiàzi 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 came 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]