Expressing "a little too" with "you dian"
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
At times you may want to politely say something is overwhelming or uncomfortable by saying "a little too." For example, if you are getting lunch with a friend who wants to be seated outside, you might say, "it is a little too hot" to politely suggest you sit inside. In that case, you can use 有点 (yǒu diǎn) or 有一点 (yǒu yì diǎnr).
Structure
To say that something is "a little too ... " or "a bit too ...", 有点 (yǒu diǎn) or 有一点 (yǒu yì diǎnr) are often used (and the Northern versions 有点儿 (yǒudiǎn er) and 有一点儿 (yǒu yīdiǎn er)).
Subj. + 有点（儿） / 有一点（儿） + Adj.
Note that for someone speaking, the adjective after “有点 (儿) (yǒudiǎn (er))” expresses a passive or negative meaning, so we don't say the expressions “有点高兴 (yǒudiǎn gāoxìng),” “有点舒服 (yǒudiǎn shūfu),” “有点好玩儿 (yǒudiǎn hǎowánr),” etc.
Examples
- 我 有点 饿。 I'm a bit too hungry.
- 这 个 菜 有点 辣。 This dish is a little too spicy.
- 昨天 有点 热。 Yesterday it was a little too hot.
- 上海 的 冬天 有点 冷。 Winter in Shanghai is a bit too cold.
- 我弟弟 有点 胖。 My younger brother is a bit too fat.
- 今天 有点 累。 Today I am a little bit too tired.
- 这 个 月 公司 有点 忙。
- 这 个 地方 有点 吵，我们 走吧。 This place is a little too noisy.Let's go.
- 爸爸 回来 有点 晚 ，妈妈 有点 不高兴。 Dad came back home a little too late so mom was a little too unhappy.
- 老师 今天 有点 不 舒服，所以 没 来上课。 The teacher today is a little too uncomfortable so she didn't came to the class.
有点 (儿) (yǒudiǎn (er)) and 有一点 (儿) (yǒu yīdiǎn (er)) have the exact same meaning and can be interchanged as one wishes without it changing the meaning of the sentence.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 183-4) →buy
