Verbing briefly with "yixia"
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
Use 一下 (yīxià) to express a brief action.
Structure
To express that a verb is carried out briefly or "a little bit," you can add 一下 after it.
The structure is:
Subject + Verb + 一下 + Object
Examples
- 你 看 一下。Take a quick look.
- 请 你 读 一下。Can you please read a bit of it.
- 我 听 一下 音乐。I'll listen to some music.
- 你 尝 一下 这 个 菜。Have a little taste of this dish.
Often, adding 一下 just makes the Chinese fee more natural. This is not something you can get a feel for quickly. You'll want to observe how native speakers use 一下 over a long period of time to really get a feel for how it is used.
