一下 (yīxià) — (after a verb) briefly; a bit in Mandarin

yīxià

“(after a verb) briefly; a bit”

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#378 most common word

Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Tone breakdown

一下 is pronounced yīxià. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.

yī

first tone (high & flat, ˉ)

xià

fourth tone (sharp falling, ˋ)

In a sentence

Děng wǒ yīxià.

Wait a moment for me.

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Frequently asked questions

What does 一下 mean?+

一下 (yīxià) means "(after a verb) briefly; a bit" in Mandarin Chinese.

How do you pronounce 一下?+

一下 is pronounced yīxià. It uses the tone 1 (high flat), then the tone 4 (falling). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.

How common is 一下 in Mandarin?+

一下 is the #378 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.

Words at a similar frequency

time (for an action); occurrence

to do; to make; to write

故事

gùshi

Story

Master the tones first

Mandarin tones explained

What each tone sounds like and why it matters.

Tone sandhi rules

Why some tones change in connected speech.

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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.