Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"

一下子 (yīxiàzi) can be used as an adverb meaning "all at once." It has to come at the beginning of the sentence. In colloquial Chinese, "一下" is also used.

Used as "All at once"

一下子 (yīxiàzi) is a very informal expression to describe how fast things happened. 通常涉及的是数量上或程度上短时间内的突然的、剧烈的变化。谓语有时会包含数量短语。

Structure

Subj. + 一下(子) + Predicate + 了

Examples

• 天气 一下 变 冷 了 。Tiānqì yīxià biàn lěng le.The weather is suddenly getting cold.
• 他 一下 吃 了 三 碗 米饭 。Tā yīxià chī le sān wǎn mǐfàn.He ate three bowls of rice at all once.
• 我们 说话 的 时候 ，她 一下子 哭 了 起来 。Wǒmen shuōhuà de shíhou, tā yīxiàzi kū le qǐlai.She burst into tears when we were talking.
• 她 上 个 月 一下 瘦 了 十 斤 。One "jin" = 500gTā shàng gè yuè yīxià shòu le shí jīn.She lost ten jin the first last month at all once.
• 她 下楼 的时候 一下子 摔倒 了 。Tā xiàlóu de shíhou yīxiàzi shuāidǎo le.She suddenly fell when she went downstairs.

Used as "Soon and Naturally"

一般都会有铺垫，解释"事情发生得很快，同时也很自然、很轻松"的原因。后面经常跟"就"连用。

Structure

Subj. + 一下(子) + 就 + Verb + 了

Examples

• 听 他 说 完 ，我 一下子 就 明白 了 。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 就 看到 他 了 。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 以后，他 一下子 就 出名 了 。Pāi wán nà bù diànyǐng yǐhòu, tā yīxiàzi jiù chūmíng le.He became very famous soon after that movie.
• 看到 那 张 照片 ，我 一下子 就 想 起来 了 。Kàndào nà zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù xiǎng qǐlai le.It all flashed back to me when I saw that picture.

See also

• Verb reduplication with yi
• Verb reduplication

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 126) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 206) [ →buy]