Expressing "all at once" with "yixiazi"

Revision as of 09:20, 15 March 2017 by ChenShishuang (talk | contribs)
Chinese-grammar-wiki-le.jpg

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

Basic Usage

Structure

一下子 (yīxiàzi) is a very informal expression to describe how fast things happened. In colloquial Chinese, "一下" is also used.

Subj. + 一下子 + Verb + 了

Examples

  • 一下子 吃 了 三 碗 米饭。yīxiàzi chī le sān wǎn mǐfàn. He ate three bowls of rice all at once.
  • 我们 没 想到 一下子 赚 了 这么 多 钱。Wǒmen méi xiǎngdào yīxiàzi zhuàn le zhème duō qián. We didn't expect to make so much money so fast.
  • 天气 一下子 变 冷 了。Tiānqì yīxiàzi biàn lěng le. The weather is suddenly getting cold.
  • 她 下楼 的时候 不 小心,一下子 摔倒 了。Tā xiàlóu de shíhou bù xiǎoxīn, yīxiàzi shuāidǎo le. She wasn't careful going down the stairs, and suddenly fell.
  • 我 太 紧张 了,一下子 想 不 起来 了。Wǒ tài jǐnzhāng le, yīxiàzi xiǎng bu qǐlái le. I was too nervous to remember it right then.

Used with 就

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 míngbái le. After hearing him out, I understood everything all at once.
  • 他 是 最 高 的,我 一下子 就 看到 他 了。Tā shì zuì gāo de, wǒ yīxiàzi jiù kàndào tā le. He is the tallest. I spotted him right away.


See also

Sources and further reading