一次 (yīcì) — Once in Mandarin
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#313 most common word
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
一次 is pronounced yīcì. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
Wǒ yīcì zhǐ néng chī yī ge píngguǒ.
I can only eat one apple at a time.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 一次 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 一次 mean?+
一次 (yīcì) means "Once" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 一次?+
一次 is pronounced yīcì. 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 一次 in Mandarin?+
一次 is the #313 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
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