Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"

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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 (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 Tiānqì yīxiàzi biàn lěng le.The weather suddenly got cold.
  • 一下子 三 碗 米饭 。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 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Wǒmen shuōhuà de shíhou, tā yīxiàzile.She burst into tears when we were talking.
  • 她 上 个 月 一下子 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 (jiù), usually implies that things happened 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 安静 Lǎoshī jìnlái yǐhòu, dàjiā yīxiàzi jiù ānjìng le.Everyone became silent after the teacher came in.
  • 听 他 说 完 ,我 一下子 明白 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 看到 他 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 出名 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 想 起来 Kàndào nà zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù xiǎng qǐlái le.It all flashed back to me when I saw that picture.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books