Meaning of 一些
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er
How to use 一些
Put 一些 before a noun to mean some or a few, for both countable and uncountable things. After an adjective it means slightly more, like 便宜一些 (piányi yīxiē, a bit cheaper). Example: 我买了一些水果。(Wǒ mǎi le yīxiē shuǐguǒ.) I bought some fruit.
一 (yī) means one, and 些 (xiē) means a small amount, so 一些 is "one small bunch" of something. Think of 这些 (zhèxiē) and 那些 (nàxiē): 些 always points to an unspecified group or amount.
Common mistake: Learners often put 一些 before an adjective to mean "a little," as in 一些贵. The correct order is adjective first: 贵一些 (guì yīxiē) means a bit more expensive. Also note the tone change: 一 is usually read yì before 些, so it sounds like yìxiē.
一些 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
一 yī · one · 1 strokes
- 1
些 xiē · classifier indicating a small amount or… · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 一些.
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 这些 | zhèxiē | these |
| 一样 | yīyàng | same; like |
| 那些 | nàxiē | those |
| 有些 | yǒuxiē | some; somewhat; rather; a bit |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 哪些 | nǎxiē | which ones?; who? |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
Questions about 一些
What does 一些 mean?
一些 (yīxiē) means "some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er".
How do you write 一些?
一些 is made of 2 characters: 一 (1 strokes), 些 (8 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 一些 an HSK word?
Yes. 一些 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 一些 and 有些?
一些 means some or a few and often appears after a verb, like 吃一些 (chī yīxiē). 有些 (yǒuxiē) often starts a sentence to mean "some of them," as in 有些人不喜欢 (some people do not like it), and it can also mean somewhat before an adjective.
Can I use 一些 with a measure word or with numbers?
No, 一些 already works like a measure word, so you say 一些书 (yīxiē shū), not 一些本书. It also cannot combine with other numbers, so 两些 is wrong.