Difference between revisions of "Verbing briefly with "yixia""

Line 38: Line 38:
  
 
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 126) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]
 
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 126) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]
 +
*[[40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册)]] (p. 206)[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 →buy]
  
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]

Revision as of 06:01, 8 July 2013

Chinese-grammar-wiki-yixia.jpg

Use 一下 (yīxià) to express a brief action.

Structure

To express that a verb is carried out briefly or "a little bit," you can add 一下 after it.

The structure is:

Subject + Verb + 一下 + Object

Examples

  • 你 看 一下Take a quick look.
  • 请 你 读 一下Can you please read a bit of it.
  • 我 听 一下 音乐。I'll listen to some music.
  • 你 尝 一下 这 个 菜。Have a little taste of this dish.

Often, adding 一下 just makes the Chinese feel more natural. This is not something you can get a feel for quickly. You'll want to observe how native speakers use 一下 over a long period of time to really get used to how it is used.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books