When one thing triggers another right away — you get home and instantly want to sleep, it rains and you instantly don’t want to go out — 一…就… yī…jiù…一…就… yī…jiù… connects the two into a single sentence.

1 Structure

S1 + 一 + V (O)，S2 + 就 + V (O)S1 + 一 + V (O)，S2 + 就 + V (O) — the moment S1 does the first action, S2 does the second one right away. If S1 and S2 are the same person, S2 can be left out.

Same Subject — S2 Omitted

When the same person does both actions, you don’t need to repeat the subject after 就 jiù就 jiù.

我wǒ一yí看書kànshū，就jiù想xiǎng睡覺shuìjiào我wǒ一yí看书kànshū，就jiù想xiǎng睡觉shuìjiào

As soon as I read a book, I want to sleep.

我的wǒde狗gǒu一yí看到kàndào我wǒ，就jiù很hěn開心kāixīn我的wǒde狗gǒu一yí看到kàndào我wǒ，就jiù很hěn开心kāixīn

Every time my dog sees me, she’s very happy.

Different Subjects — Both Kept

When S1 and S2 are different people or things, both must stay in the sentence.

2 Negation

一 + 沒 + V，就 + V一 + 没 + V，就 + V — the moment the first action does not happen, the second one follows right away.

3 Common Mistakes

When S1 and S2 refer to the same person, the subject only appears once — and it belongs before 就 jiù就 jiù, right at the front of the sentence, before 一 yī一 yī. It should never be repeated after 就 jiù就 jiù.

4 Practice

Translate each sentence into Chinese, then tap the card to check your answer.