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一度 (yī dù) — (adverb) once, at one time (referring to a past period); (quantifier) one time (used in fixed phrases like 一年一度)

Definition

一度 is a more formal/literary 'once' for a past period (他一度想放弃). For personal past experience, prefer 曾经; 一旦 and 一经 are conditional ('once/if and when').

adverb
onceat one time (referring to a past period)
quantifier
one time (used in fixed phrases like 一年一度)

Examples

  • 一度。
    Tā yī dù xiǎng fàng qì zhè ge jì huà.
    He once wanted to give up this plan.
  • 一度。
    Zhè ge dì qū yī dù fēi cháng pín kùn.
    This region was once very poor.
  • 。
    Zhè shì yì nián yī dù de shèng huì.
    This is a grand event that happens once a year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

一yīone
度dùtime

一 “one” counts 度 “time/occasion”, giving once.

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.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Frequency & Duration

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.