Expressing "a little too" with "you dian"

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 diǎn).

Structure

To say that something is "a little too ... " or "a bit too ...", 有一点 (yǒuyīdiǎn) is often used. Its northern Chinese versions is 有一点儿 (yǒu yīdiǎnr).

Subj. + 有一点(儿) + Adj.

In spoken Chinese, the 一 (yī) in 有一点 (yǒuyīdiǎn) is often dropped, leaving 有点 (yǒudiǎn). In northern China, that's usually pronounced 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr).

Subj. + 有点(儿) + Adj.

Examples

• 我 有点 饿。 Wǒ yǒudiǎn è. I'm a little hungry.
• 这 个 菜 有点 辣。 Zhè ge cài yǒudiǎn là. This dish is a little too spicy.
• 昨天 有点 热。 Zuótiān yǒudiǎn rè. Yesterday it was a little too hot.
• 上海 的 冬天 有点 冷。 Shànghǎi de dōngtiān yǒudiǎn lěng. Winter in Shanghai is a bit too cold.
• 我弟弟 有点 胖。 Wǒ dìdi yǒudiǎn pàng. My younger brother is a bit fat.
• 今天 有点 累。 Jīntiān yǒudiǎn lèi. Today I am a little bit tired.
• 这 个 月 公司 有点 忙。 Zhè ge yuè gōngsī yǒudiǎn máng. This month the company is a little too busy.
• 这 个 地方 有点 吵，我们 走吧。 Zhè ge dìfāng yǒudiǎn chǎo, wǒmen zǒu ba. This place is a little too noisy. Let's go.
• 爸爸 回来 有点 晚 ，妈妈 有点 不高兴。Bàba huílái yǒudiǎn wǎn, māma yǒudiǎn bù gāoxìng. Dad came back home a bit too late, so mom was a little unhappy.
• 老师 今天 有点 不 舒服，所以 没 来上课。Lǎoshī jīntiān yǒudiǎn bù shūfu, suǒyǐ méi lái shàngkè. Today, the teacher felt a little unwell, so she didn't come to class.

Negative Connotation

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.

See also

• Expressing "excessively" with "tai"
• Expressing "a bit too"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 183-4) →buy