Table of Contents

Grammar Point

一 yī … 就 jiù …: As Soon As

一 yī…就 jiù… links two actions: the moment the first one happens, the second one follows right away. It’s a lot like “as soon as” in English. It can also mean “every time,” when one thing always leads to another.

一 As Soon As

Subject 1 + 一 + Verb (+ Object)，Subject 2 + 就 + Verb (+ Object)

As soon as the first action happens, the second one follows. If both subjects are the same person, you can drop the second one.

我wǒ一yí看kàn英文Yīngwén书shū，就jiù想xiǎng睡觉shuìjiào

As soon as I start reading an English book, I want to sleep.

我wǒ一yì说shuō中文Zhōngwén，朋友péngyou就jiù笑xiào了le

As soon as I spoke Chinese, my friend laughed.

Two different people, so the second subject (朋友 péngyou) goes before 就 jiù.

妈妈māma一yí下班xiàbān，就jiù回家huíjiā

Mom goes home as soon as she gets off work.

他tā一yí看见kànjiàn她tā，就jiù离开líkāi了le

He left the moment he saw her.

他tā一yì闻到wéndào臭豆腐chòu dòufu，就jiù想xiǎng吐tù

The second he smells stinky tofu, he feels like throwing up.

Stinky tofuLet’s talk about one of the most famous (and most divisive) foods in Taiwan: stinky tofu! Why is it so stinky? It’s soaked in a special fermented brine, and that’s what gives it its famous smell and flavor. Some people can’t get enough of it.

The smell can be a lot at first, but trust me, it’s worth a try. Be bold! You might find your new favorite snack. And even if you hate it, at least you’ll have a great story about the time you ate one of the smelliest foods in the world. 😆

二 The Order Can’t Change

In English, “as soon as” can go at the start or in the middle of a sentence. In Chinese, the order is fixed: 一 yī part first, 就 jiù part second.

English: either order

I’ll go home as soon as I finish work.
As soon as I finish work, I’ll go home.

Chinese: one order only

我wǒ一yì完成wánchéng工作gōngzuò，就jiù回家huíjiā

The 一 part always comes first.

❌ 就jiù回家huíjiā，我wǒ一yì完成wánchéng工作gōngzuò

✅ 我wǒ一yì完成wánchéng工作gōngzuò，就jiù回家huíjiā

You can’t flip the two halves around like in English.

Tone change on 一Heads up: 一 changes its tone depending on the next syllable. Before a 4th-tone syllable it’s said yí (一看 yí kàn), and before 1st, 2nd or 3rd tones it’s said yì (一说 yì shuō). The pinyin in the examples on this page shows the tone as it’s actually pronounced.

三 Every Time

一 yī…就 jiù… can also mean “every time.” The first part is a condition, and the second part is what always happens because of it.

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 gets so happy.

爸爸bàba一yì吃chī辣là就jiù拉肚子lā dùzi

Every time Dad eats spicy food, he gets diarrhea.

他tā一yì开始kāishǐ工作gōngzuò，就jiù不会bú huì接jiē电话diànhuà

Once he starts working, he won’t answer the phone.

我wǒ一yì想到xiǎngdào明天míngtiān是shì星期一xīngqíyī，就jiù好hǎo想xiǎng死sǐ

Whenever I think about tomorrow being Monday, I just want to die.

Just a joke! 😅

四 With a Negative

Subject + 一 + 没 + Verb，就 + ⋯

The first part can be negative too: “every time [something] doesn’t happen…”

我wǒ一yì没méi喝hē咖啡kāfēi就jiù头痛tóutòng

Whenever I don’t drink coffee, I get a headache.

他tā一yì没méi睡饱shuìbǎo，就jiù脾气píqi很hěn大dà

Whenever he doesn’t get enough sleep, he’s in a terrible mood.

五 Common Mistakes

❌ 一yì我wǒ回家huíjiā，就jiù睡覺shuìjiào睡觉shuìjiào

✅ 我wǒ一yì回家huíjiā，就jiù睡覺shuìjiào睡觉shuìjiào

一 yī goes after the subject, right before the verb.

❌ 我wǒ一yì說shuō说shuō笑話xiàohuà笑话xiàohuà，就jiù大家dàjiā笑xiào了le

✅ 我wǒ一yì說shuō说shuō笑話xiàohuà笑话xiàohuà，大家dàjiā就jiù笑xiào了le

When the second subject is different, it goes before 就 jiù.

❌ 我wǒ一yì回家huíjiā，睡覺shuìjiào睡觉shuìjiào

✅ 我wǒ一yì回家huíjiā就jiù睡覺shuìjiào睡觉shuìjiào

Don’t forget 就 jiù! 一 yī and 就 jiù work as a pair.

六 Practice

Tap the words below in the right order to build the sentence, then check your answer. If it’s wrong, you can try again as many times as you like, or hit “Show answer” if you get stuck. Careful: some tiles are traps and are not needed!

Question 1 of 10

“Every time I bring up the boss, I get angry.”