一时 (yī shí) — (noun) a period of time; a while; (adverb) for a short while; temporarily; momentarily

Definition

一时 means 'a moment / for a short while' — often used as a time-frame noun (一时之间, 一时冲动). Compared to 暂时 (暂时) it's more about a brief span; 暂且 and 暂 are closer synonyms for 'for now'.

noun
a period of timea while
adverb
for a short whiletemporarilymomentarily

Examples

  • 一时，。
    yī shí Zhī jiān, tā zuò chū le yí gè zhòng yào de jué dìng.
    In a short while, he made an important decision.
  • 一时。
    Wǒ yī shí xiǎng bù qǐ tā de míng zì le.
    I can't recall his name for the moment.
  • 一时，。
    Tā yī shí chōng dòng, zuò cuò liǎo shì.
    He did something wrong in a moment of impulsiveness.

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
时shítime

一 and 时 make 'one time', giving a short period or a moment.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Time (Abstract)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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