V一下 — Measures an action at one short, light instance: do it briefly, give it a quick try, do it once.

grammar → V一下

TSUMUGU · TBCL 3 (est.) · 語法

V一下 grammar point · tier 1 · V 一下 (do V briefly / once / for a moment)

· yíxià

Measures an action at one short, light instance: do it briefly, give it a quick try, do it once.

Hook inherited from 結果補語.

Measures an action at one short, light instance

框 · Frame

[action verb] 一下

觸 · Trigger

You want to do something briefly, lightly, or give it a quick try, without making it sound like a whole undertaking.

序 · The move

1Take an action verb (看, 試, 等, 參觀).Is it an action you can do in one short burst, not a lasting quality?

2Hang 一下 right after the verb to cap it at one light instance.一下 sits after the verb, never before it.

3Read it back as brief and casual, not long or hard.看一下 is one quick glance, not a long stare.

例 · Examples

1我帶take (someone)你you去go to附近nearby的attributive marker圖書館library參觀visit; tour一下briefly; for a moment。

I'll take you to the nearby library for a quick look around.

界 · Boundary

Vs 一點

一下 measures an action at one short instance after an action verb (等一下, wait a moment). 一點 raises a quality a small notch after a stative verb (快一點, a bit faster). Action-instance versus degree.

bare verb

A bare verb states the action plainly. V一下 softens it to brief and casual: 看 is look, 看一下 is take a quick look.

一下看 ✗ → 看一下 ✓

我喜歡一下他 ✗ → 我喜歡他 ✓ (喜歡 is a state, not a brief action)

看一下了三個小時 ✗ → 看了三個小時 ✓ (一下 cannot carry a long duration)

English puts the softener as a separate phrase (have a look, take a moment); learners reach for a noun phrase or front the word instead of hanging 一下 off the back of the verb.