Comparing "youdian" and "yidian"

有点 yǒudiǎn and 一点儿 yǒu yīdiǎn (有点儿 [yǒudiǎn] and 一点儿 [yǒu yīdiǎner] in Northern dialects) both mean the same thing, "a little" or "a bit", but they have different ways of being used in sentences.

Difference 1

有点 (also 有点儿) is placed before an adjective, and it usually expressed something that you don't want. some examples of adjectives that can be coupled with 有点 are 生气, 伤心, 难过 etc.

一点 (also 一点儿) cannot be placed before an adjective, instead, it is placed after an adjective. The adjectives that can be used are particularly limited. They often express some kind of comparison.

有点儿+Adjective

Adjective + （了）一点儿

Examples

• 我 有点 饿。I'm a bit hungry.
• 老板 有点儿 生气。The boss is a little mad.
• 这 件 衣服 贵 了 一点儿。This piece of clothing is a little expensive.
• 老板，便宜 一点儿 吧。Sir, a little cheaper please. (directed to the owner of a shop)

Difference 2

In this structure, after 有点(or 有点儿) you can add use 不 or 没, however the following adjective should have a positive connotation, like 高兴, 安全, 太好 etc. 一点 (or 一点儿) cannot be linked together directly, but it can be used in the 一点儿也/都不 or 一点儿也/都没 structure.

有点儿+ 不/没 + Adjective

一点儿+ 也/都+ 不/没 + Adjective

Examples

• 我 的 女朋友 有点儿 不 高兴。My girlfriend is a bit unhappy.
• 这里 有点 不 干净。It's a little dirty here. (not clean here)
• 我 一点儿 都 没 生气。I am not the least bit angry
• 你 看起来 一点儿 也 不 累。You look like you are not even a bit tired.

Examples of right and wrong sentences

• 我 有点 饿。
I'm a bit hungry.
• 我 一点 饿。
• 老板 有点儿 生气。
The boss is a bit angry.
• 老板 一点儿 生气。
• 这 件 衣服 贵 了 一点儿 。
This piece of clothing is a bit expensive.
• 这 件 衣服 贵 了 有点儿 。
• 老板，便宜 一点儿 吧。
Sir, how about a bit cheaper?
• 老板，便宜 有点儿 吧。

Example dialog

• A: 这件衣服有点儿贵啊。This piece of clothing is a bit expensive.
• B: 是 贵 了 一点儿，但是 真 的 很 好看，我 好 喜欢。It's a bit expensive, but it looks really good, I like it.
• A: 服务员，这 件 衣服 能 不 能 便宜 一点？Attendant, could we get this a little cheaper?
• C: 不好意思，这 是 新 品，一点儿 也 不 能 便宜。I'm sorry, this is a new item, it can't even be a little bit cheaper.

See also

• Expressing "A bit too"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (“一点儿”p. 602) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (“有点儿”p. 633) →buy
• 对外汉语教学语法释疑201例 (p.172) →buy