A little bit – 有一点 yǒuyìdiǎn & 一点 yìdiǎn

Posted on by tiffany

Grammar Point

有一点 yǒuyìdiǎn & 一点 yìdiǎn

當代中文 Contemporary Chinese

Both phrases mean “a little” or “a bit,” but they attach to different types of words. On the mainland, 有点儿yǒudiǎnr is actually more common than 有一点.

一 Structure

PhrasePairs With
有一点 yǒuyìdiǎn+Adjective
一点 yìdiǎn+Noun
今天jīntiān天气tiānqì有一点yǒuyìdiǎn热rè
Today’s weather is a bit hot.
我wǒ弟弟dìdi有一点yǒuyìdiǎn矮ǎi
My younger brother is a bit short.
我wǒ觉得juéde那nà家jiā店的diànde珍珠奶茶zhēnzhūnǎichá有一点yǒuyìdiǎn贵guì
I think the bubble tea from that shop is a bit expensive.
你nǐ要yào不要búyào喝hē一点yìdiǎn酒jiǔ？
Would you like to have a little bit of alcohol?
我wǒ早上zǎoshang吃了chīle一点yìdiǎn饭fàn，所以suǒyǐ现在xiànzài不bú饿è
I had a little breakfast in the morning, so I’m not hungry now.
我wǒ会huì说shuō一点yìdiǎn日文rìwén
I can speak a little bit of Japanese.

二 Special Cases

Sometimes what looks like 有一点 is actually just the verb 有yǒu (“to have”) followed by 一点 + a noun.

我wǒ今天jīntiān下午xiàwǔ有yǒu一点yìdiǎn时间shíjiān
I have a bit of time this afternoon.
“have” + “a bit of time” — not “a bit” + adjective
他tā只zhǐ有yǒu一点yìdiǎn钱qián
He has only a bit of money.
我家wǒjiā还hái有yǒu一点yìdiǎn洋葱yángcōng，你nǐ要yào吗ma？
There’s still a bit of onion at home. Do you want it?

三 Something You Need to Know

有一点 is usually neutral, but native speakers often use it as a polite, indirect way to complain.

这个zhège课kè有一点yǒuyìdiǎn简单jiǎndān
This course is a little simple.
Implies the speaker wants it to be more challenging.
他tā买mǎi的de东西dōngxi常常chángcháng有一点yǒuyìdiǎn便宜piányí
The things he buys are often a little cheap.
Implies the speaker wishes he’d buy nicer, more expensive things.
This “polite complaint” use only works with something the speaker sees as a shortfall. You can’t use it to soften praise: 你nǐ做zuò的de菜cài有一点yǒuyìdiǎn好吃hǎochī (“The dish you made is a bit delicious”) simply doesn’t make sense — nobody complains about something being too good.

四 Practice

Pick the correctly formed sentence.

Question 1 of 10

“Today’s weather is a bit hot.”

热 is an adjective, so it needs 有一点, not just 一点.

“I can speak a little Japanese.”

日文 is a noun, so it takes 一点, not 有一点.

“My younger brother is a bit short.”

矮 (short) is an adjective — 有一点.

“I have a little time this afternoon.”

This is “have” (有) + “a bit of time” (一点 + noun), not the 有一点 + adjective pattern.

What does it imply when someone says “這個課有一點簡單” (“This course is a little simple”)?

有一点 is often a polite, indirect way of complaining.

Why doesn’t 你nǐ做zuò的de菜cài有一点yǒuyìdiǎn好吃hǎochī (“The dish you made is a bit delicious”) make sense?

有一点 signals a shortfall — it clashes with a positive trait like being delicious.

“Would you like a little bit of alcohol?”

酒 (alcohol) is a noun — 一点.

“He has only a bit of money.”

This is 有 (have) + 一点 + 钱 (a noun), not the adjective pattern.

“There’s still a bit of onion at home. Do you want it?”

洋葱 (onion) is a noun following 有 (have), so it’s 一点, not 有一点.

“I think this bag is a bit heavy.” (a polite complaint)

重 (heavy) is an adjective, so it needs 有一点.