Chinese word

一下子

Pronunciation

Pinyinyī xià zi

Meaning

  • adverbright away

Example

我一下子就明白了。wǒ yí xià zi jiù míng bái le

I understood right away.

Illustration for 一下子 (right away)

More examples

听到笑话，大家一下子笑了起来。tīng dào xiào huà dà jiā yí xià zi xiào le qǐ lái

After hearing the joke, everyone suddenly burst out laughing.

Core concept

An event seems to jump from not yet happening to finished, leaving almost no time in between.

Common phrases

  • 一下子笑了起来yí xià zi xiào le qǐ lái

    suddenly burst out laughing

  • 一下子感到尴尬yí xià zi gǎn dào gān gà

    suddenly feel embarrassed

  • 一下子安静下来yí xià zi ān jìng xià lái

    suddenly quiet down

Similar words

马上mǎ shàng: Immediately or very soon, emphasizing that an action or result is close in time.
立刻lì kè: Immediately and without waiting, emphasizing action taken on the spot.
立即lì jí: Immediately and with almost no delay, in a somewhat formal written style.
瞬间shùn jiān: In an instant, a sudden change or completion happens all at once.

Definition in Chinese

表示动作或感觉在瞬间内出现、发生或完成，强调时间短促，多见于口语。biǎo shì dòng zuò huò gǎn jué zài shùn jiān nèi chū xiàn fā shēng huò wán chéng qiáng diào shí jiān duǎn cù duō jiàn yú kóu yǔ

Word origin

一下子 (yīxiàzi, "in an instant") combines 一下 (yīxià, "a brief moment") with the colloquial suffix 子 (zi, "suffix") to form a compact adverb for very rapid change.

Usage tips

  • It often comes before 就 (jiù, "then"), where the pairing presents a result as following with almost no delay in everyday speech.

Other meanings

  • in an instantadverb
  • suddenlyadverb

Opposites

  • 渐渐地jiàn jiàn dìgraduallyadverb
  • 慢慢地màn màn dìslowlyadverb

Word lists with this word