顷刻间 (qǐng kè jiān) — in an instant, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye
Definition
A literary noun for an extremely short span of time — "in an instant," emphasizing how quickly something happened. Reads as written/formal register, not everyday speech.
noun
in an instantin a flashin the twinkling of an eye
Examples
- ，顷刻间。Gāng cái hái qíng kōng wàn lǐ, qǐng kè jiān jiù xià qǐ le dà yǔ.It was clear blue skies just a moment ago, and then it started pouring in an instant.
- 顷刻间。Tā qǐng kè jiān xiāo shī zài rén qún zhōng.He vanished into the crowd in an instant.
- 顷刻间。Zhè ge xiāo xi qǐng kè jiān chuán biàn le zhěng gè chéng shì.The news spread throughout the entire city in an instant.
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