How to use small quantity words in Mandarin Chinese?

Use small quantity words in Mandarin Chinese to describe “a small amount of stuff.” Small quantity words in Mandarin include:

While the seven words above all indicate a small amount, they differ in meaning and usage. For example, the quantity of 一些 (transcribed yīxiē) is commonly perceived as more than that of 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn). There are also differences as to where they are placed in a sentence.

Five of them play an important role in polite language making, including 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn), 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn), 一下 (transcribed yīxià), 一会儿 (transcribed yīhuǐr), and 稍(微) (transcribed shāo(wēi)). These five words use their common meaning of “a little bit” to soften the speaker’s tone and make requests and things like that less imposing.

Intrigued? Dive in to get more information about small quantity words in Mandarin.

When 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) is followed by a noun, it indicates a small amount of something. For example:

When 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) follows an adjective / verb, it indicates a small amount or a low degree. This structure is usually used in a comparative sense, like the “-er” ending in English. For example:

一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) is also used in idiomatic phrases. For example, both 一点都不/没 (transcribed yīdiǎn dōu bù/méi, meaning “not at all”) and 一点都/也没 (transcribed yīdiǎn dōu/yě méi, meaning “not at all”)indicate a complete negation. The latter is used for a past event, and the former is used for a present or future event. For example:

Use 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) as a small quantity word with adjectives and verbs. It does not usually modify a noun as a small quantity word. For example:

累 (transcribed lèi, meaning “tired”) in the above sentence is an adjective, and 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) describes the low degree of tiredness.

The above two examples illustrate how 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) is used with verbs. The verbs here tend to indicate emotions and feelings, exemplified by 想 (transcribed xiǎng, meaning “think/miss”), 爱 (transcribed ài, meaning “love”), 喜欢 (transcribed xǐhuan, meaning “like”), 遗憾 (transcribed yíhàn, meaning “regret”), 讨厌 (transcribed tǎoyàn, meaning “hate”), 害怕 (transcribed hàipà, meaning “fear”), 恨 (transcribed hèn, meaning “hate”), 烦 (transcribed fán, meaning “annoy”), 生气 (transcribed shēngqì, meaning “be angry”), 怀疑 (transcribed huáiyí, meaning “doubt”).

While 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) and 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) both mean “a little / a bit,” they do have differences in use. 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) needs to be placed after adjectives or verbs, but 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) is placed before adjectives or verbs. Also, adjective + 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) is usually used in a comparative sense and 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) + adjective for general description.

一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) stresses “a bit of something,” but 一些 (transcribed yīxiē) conveys “some.” 一些 (transcribed yīxiē) typically goes with countable items (e.g., “books”). The quantity of 一些 (transcribed yīxiē) is commonly perceived as more than that of 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn), just like “some” is mostly more than “a little” in English. For example, the quantity of 一些苹果 (transcribed yīxiē píngguǒ, meaning “some apples”) is usually more than the quantity of 一点苹果 (transcribed yīdiǎn píngguǒ, meaning “a small quantity of apples”) , which literally means “a bit of apple.” For example:

As shown in the above sentences, when 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) can be used with a countable noun like in the first sentence, it highlights a small singular amount (“a bit of pear”). 一些 (transcribed yīxiē), on the other hand, refers to a small but plural amount ("several / some apples"), which could be 5, 7, 10, etc.

There are some cases where 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) can be used but not 一些 (transcribed yīxiē), and vice versa. For example, when giving a present, the humble Chinese giver tends to say to the receiver: 一点小意思, 请笑纳 (transcribed Yīdiǎn xiǎoyìsi, qǐng xiàonà, meaning “This is a small token of gratitude. Please accept it”). 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) here highlights the “insignificance” of the present. In this case, we cannot say 一些小意思，请笑纳, because 一些 (transcribed yīxiē) does not have the strong sense of “insignificance” like 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) has.

一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) can also be used as a polite expression. For example, although your Chinese may be very good, when asked, you should still say, 我就会一点汉语 (transcribed Wǒ jiù huì yīdiǎn Hànyǔ, meaning “I only know a bit of Chinese”). This is to show that you are modest and humble, which would give people a good impression.

一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) and 一些 (transcribed yīxiē) can also be used to describe a low degree, and usually in the sense of comparison. They appear after (not before) an adjective / verb. For example:

少数 (transcribed shǎoshù) and 稍微 (transcribed shāowēi) are different in use. 少数 (transcribed shǎoshù) tends to go with nouns, while 少数 (transcribed shǎoshù) goes with verbs or adjectives. For example:

In this sentence above, 少数 (transcribed shǎoshù) goes with the noun 人 (transcribed rén, meaning “people”). 稍微 (transcribed shāowēi), on the other hand, tends to go with a verb or an adjective, indicating a low degree. For example:

稍微 (transcribed shāowēi) tends to double up with another word referring to a small amount. For example, in the second sentence, 点 means “a bit,” so 稍微 (transcribed shāowēi) and 点 mean a lower degree and a small amount. The purpose of using the two together is to emphasize the smallness of the item being described, in this case, the redness on his face.

There are some idiomatic uses of 稍微 (transcribed shāowēi), where 微 (transcribed wēi) is omitted. For example, 稍等 (transcribed shāoděng, meaning “just a minute”), 稍后 (transcribed shāohòu, meaning “a moment later”), 稍纵即逝 (transcribed shāozòngjíshì, meaning “fleeting”).

Small quantity words can also be used to speak politely in Mandarin. For example, if you want to ask someone to speak more slowly, you can say, 说慢一点可以吗 (transcribed Shuō màn yīdiǎn kěyǐ ma, meaning “Can you speak a bit slowly?”), where 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn, meaning “a bit”) functions as a politeness word. We can also use the following words to show politeness: 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn, meaning “a bit”), 一下 (transcribed yíxià, meaning “one time”), 一会儿 (transcribed yíhuìr, meaning “a short while”), and 稍(微) (transcribed shāo (wēi), meaning “slightly”), among others.

These politeness words are usually used in a request, in non-positive comments, and where polite language is warranted to mitigate any possible adversarial impact.

Often, the small quantity words can be used together with other politeness words (e.g. 请 (transcribed qǐng, meaning “please”), 麻烦 (transcribed máfan, meaning “sorry to bother you”)), or combined with other small quantity words (e.g. 稍微有点 (transcribed shāowēi yǒudiǎn, meaning “just a little bit”)) to enhance politeness.

Politeness in Mandarin is very important; otherwise even if you know all the words you may still come across as a rude speaker. Like in English, “Pass me the salt” sounds a bit blunt, whereas “Would you please pass me the salt?” is more polite. In Mandarin Chinese, you can use 请 (transcribed qǐng, meaning “please”) to express politeness, as in 请问去图书馆怎么走 (transcribed Qǐngwèn qù túshūguǎn zěnme zǒu, meaning “Could you please let me know where the library is?”). Similarly, you can also use 麻烦 (transcribed máfan, meaning “sorry to bother you”) to do the same, as in 麻烦您去图书馆怎么走 (transcribed Máfan nín qù túshūguǎn zěnme zǒu, meaning “Sorry to bother you, could you please let me know where the library is?”). But you can also use small quantity words. Let’s explore them one by one.

When you make a request, adding 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) to your request indicates that you “just want a little bit of something.” In doing so, you come across as more polite. Here are some comparisons between the polite and less polite versions.

As shown above, polite versions tend to have politeness words and are in question forms. Less polite versions tend to be shorter in length and in non-question forms.

Similar to 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn), sentences with 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) can also appear to be polite.

In the second sentence, 他不高兴 (transcribed Tā bù gāoxìng, meaning “He is unhappy”) sounds a bit blunt and could be perceived as being critical. The function of 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn) is to soften the possible critical tone, making the sentence much more polite.

一下 (transcribed yíxià, meaning “one time”) accompanies a verb, meaning that the action is for a short while or can be done casually. This word is often used to soften the tone. For example:

一下 (transcribed yīxià, meaning “Translation”)in the above sentences brings about a polite request.

一会儿 (transcribed yíhuìr, meaning “a short while”), like 一下 (transcribed yíxià, meaning “Translation”) above, can also be used to make a polite sentence. For example:

The politeness in the above two sentences is to ask permissions indirectly by using 一会儿 (transcribed yíhuìr). With the meaning of “a short while,” the speaker sort of says, “It won’t be long, so please allow me to do it.”

一下 (transcribed yīxià) and 一会儿 (transcribed yīhuǐr) are mostly interchangeable. For example, we can say 请坐一下/一会儿 (meaning Please sit down for a bit) or 请等一下/一会儿 (transcribed Please wait for a moment, meaning “Translation”). However, 一下 often indicates a shorter time span than 一会儿 does. For example 说一会儿话 (transcribed shuō yīhuǐr huà, meaning “chat for a short while”) could be 30 mins, but 说一下话 (transcribed shuō yīxià huà, meaning “chat for a bit”) would be less than that.

稍(微) (transcribed shāo(wēi)) can be used alongside another small quantity word to increase the level of politeness of a sentence in Mandarin Chinese. For example:

As shown in the second sentence above, 稍微 (transcribed shāowēi) together with 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn) enables the speaker to ask the listener to turn down the music very nicely. The purpose of using the two together is to emphasize the meaning of “just a little bit please.”

Note that in the second sentence, the speaker adds 谢谢 (transcribed xièxiè) to the end of sentence to further show politeness while requesting. Also, in both sentences, 请 (transcribed qǐng, meaning “please”) and 麻烦 (transcribed máfan, meaning “sorry to bother you”) are added to enhance the degree of politeness, but they are not necessary and can be omitted.

In this post, we’ve reviewed small quantity words in Mandarin and discussed seven words in particular, which all convey the meaning of “a small amount.”

Among these seven words, five of them play an important role in polite language making, including 一点 (transcribed yīdiǎn), 有点 (transcribed yǒudiǎn), 一下 (transcribed yīxià), 一会儿 (transcribed yīhuǐr), and 稍(微) (transcribed shāo(wēi)). These five words use their common meaning of “a little bit” to soften the speaker’s tone and make requests and things like that less imposing.

Okay, now it is time to put the above into practice. Click on these exercises to practice using small quantity words to express politeness in Mandarin.