How to use 一点儿 (yī diǎnr) in Mandarin Chinese Grammar

  • 700 words (~ 9 minutes)

一点儿 (yī diǎnr) is a common word in Mandarin Chinese. It means “some”, “a bit of” or “a little bit”. It can also be combined with 也不 (yě bù) to form absolute negatives like “not at all”.

一点儿 with a noun

一点儿 is commonly used with nouns and noun phrases. The noun that it modifies must be a mass noun, which means something that can be treated as a continuous quantity and does not need to be counted as individual units. This is the same as how the word “some” is used in English when talking about quantities.

Some examples:

我想买一点儿茶。

Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yīdiǎnr chá.

I would like to buy some tea.

他会弹一点儿古筝。

Tā huì tán yīdiǎnr gǔzhēng.

He can play a bit of zither.

我买了一点儿吃的。

Wǒ mǎi le yīdiǎnr chī de.

I bought some food.

一点儿 alone as the object

The noun can also be dropped and replaced with just 一点儿 alone to mean “some [of that]":

给我一点儿。

Gěi wǒ yīdiǎnr.

Give me some [of that].

我能听懂一点儿。

Wǒ néng tīng dǒng yīdiǎnr.

I can understand a bit [of it].

点 (diǎn) vs 点儿 (diǎnr)

The 点儿 in 一点儿 is often interchangeable with just 点.

Some examples:

快一点！

Kuài yīdiǎn!

Hurry up!

他每天都买一点水果。

Tā měitiān dōu mǎi yī diǎn shuǐguǒ.

He buys some fruit every day.

Skipping 一 and just saying 点儿

As well as saying 点 instead of 点儿, the 一 can also be dropped to leave just 点 or 点儿.

Some examples:

快点！

Kuài diǎn!

Hurry up!

咱们晚点出发吧。

Zánmen wǎndiǎn chūfā bā.

Let's set off a bit later.

你最好规矩点儿。

Nǐ zuìhǎo guīju diǎnr.

You'd better behave yourself [a bit better].

一点儿 with an adjective

一点儿 can modify adjectives. Some examples:

今天天气暖和一点儿了。

Jīntiān tiānqì nuǎnhuo yīdiǎnr le.

The weather is a bit warmer today.

我建议你早一点儿到。

Wǒ jiànyì nǐ zǎo yīdiǎnr dào.

I suggest that you arrive a bit earlier.

这部电影有一点儿可怕。

Zhè bù diànyǐng yǒuyīdiǎnr kěpà.

This film is a bit scary.

一点儿 with 也不 (yě bù) or 都不 (dōu bù) to mean “not at all”

一点儿 can form part of a 一…也不 or 一…都不 phrase to express a negative absolute, or “not at all”, “not in the least”, “not even a little bit” etc. When talking about the past, these sentences use 也没 (yě méi) or 都没 (dōu méi) instead of 也不 or 都不.

Some examples:

这一点儿也不好。

Zhè yīdiǎnr yě bù hǎo.

This is not good at all.

她一点儿饭都没吃。

Tā yīdiǎnr fàn dōu méi chī.

She hasn't eaten anything at all.

我一点儿肉都不吃。

Wǒ yīdiǎnr ròu dōu bù chī.

I don't eat even a little bit of meat.

我一点儿也不怕蜘蛛。

Wǒ yīdiǎnr yě bùpà zhīzhū.

I am not in the least afraid of spiders.

两件事一点儿关系也没有。

Liǎng jiàn shì yīdiǎnr guānxi yě méiyǒu.

The two things are not related at all.

一点儿 in 这么一点儿 (zhème yīdiǎnr)

一点儿 can appear in the phrase 这么一点儿 to mean “such a tiny amount”.

Some examples:

这么一点儿饭我们怎么吃饱呢？

Zhème yīdiǎnr fàn wǒmen zěnme chībǎo ne?

How can we be satisfied with such a tiny amount of food?

工作很辛苦，也只给我付这么一点儿薪水。

Gōngzuò hěn xīnkǔ, háishi gěi wǒ fù zhème yīdiǎnr xīnshuǐ.

The work is hard but only pays me this tiny salary.

一点 meaning “a point” as in 这一点 (zhè yī diǎn)

Note that 一点 can appear in sentences where it does not mean “a bit” but “a point”, commonly as 这一点 or 的一点. When used in this way it has to be 一点 and not 一点儿. This is often seen in essays and analytical speech.

Some examples:

但还有更重要的一点。

Dàn háiyǒu gēng zhòngyào de yī diǎn.

But there is a more important point.

我想特别强调这一点。

Wǒ xiǎng tèbié qiángdiào zhè yīdiǎn.

I want to emphasise this point especially.

在这一点上， 争论只是浪费时间。

Zài zhè yī diǎn shàng, zhēnglùn zhǐshì làngfèi shíjiān.

On this point, it's a waste of time to argue.

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