一不小心 (yí bù xiǎo xīn) — accidentally, due to a moment of carelessness

Definition

Set phrase for a brief lapse in attention — 'one careless moment and…'. It sets up a regretful outcome, often followed by 就 to show what went wrong.

idiom

accidentallydue to a moment of carelessness

一不小心。
yí bù xiǎo xīn Jiù shuāi dǎo le.
With one careless moment, I fell down.
一不小心。
Kāi chē de shí hou yí bù xiǎo xīn jiù huì chū shì.
When driving, one moment of inattentiveness can cause an accident.
一不小心。
Tā yí bù xiǎo xīn shuō cuò le huà.
He accidentally said the wrong thing.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

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