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 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)).

Subject + 有点（儿） / 有一点（儿） + Adjective

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

• 她 有点 生气 。 Tā yǒudiǎn shēngqì. She's a little too angry.
• 我 有点 饿 。 Wǒ yǒudiǎn è. I'm a bit too hungry.
• 他 有点 胖 。 Tā yǒudiǎn pàng. He's a bit too fat.
• 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 觉得 她 有点 不高兴 。 Wǒ juéde tā yǒudiǎn bùgāoxìng. I think she is a bit not too happy.
• 今天 有点 累 。 Jīntiān yǒudiǎn lèi. Today I am a little bit too tired.
• 这 杯 啤酒 有点 苦 。 Zhè bēi píjiǔ yǒudiǎn kǔ. This cup of beer is a little bit too bitter.
• 妈妈 有点 不 舒服 。 Māma yǒudiǎn bù shūfu. Mom is a little too uncomfortable.
• 这 个 奶茶 有点 甜 。 Zhè gè nǎichá yǒudiǎn tián. This milk tea is a little sweet.

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

• 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