Verbing briefly with "yixia"

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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