不一会 (bù yí huì) — soon, in a little while (often used with 就)

Definition

Literally 'not one [moment]' — a set phrase meaning 'in a moment' or 'before long.' Often followed by 就, like English 'no sooner... than...'.

idiom
soonin a little while (often used with 就)

Examples

  • 不一会，。
    bù yí huì, Tā jiù huí lái le.
    In a little while, he came back.
  • 不一会，。
    Wǒ men děng le bù yí huì, chē jiù lái le.
    We waited a little while, and the bus came.
  • 不一会，。
    Chī wán fàn bù yí huì, wǒ yòu è le.
    Soon after eating, I got hungry again.

Origin

Characters in this word

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.

Open 不 →

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 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

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