Meaning of 一口气
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- one breath
- in one breath
- at a stretch
How to use 一口气
一口气 is used before a verb to say something was done in one go, without a break. It often goes with 地 or directly before the verb. Example: 他一口气喝完了一瓶水。(Tā yīkǒuqì hē wán le yì píng shuǐ.) He drank a whole bottle of water in one go.
Read it piece by piece: 一 (yī) one, 口 (kǒu) mouth, 气 (qì) air or breath. One mouthful of breath means doing something all at once, without stopping to breathe.
Common mistake: Learners often read 一 with its first tone here, but in speech it usually changes to fourth tone before 口 (kǒu), giving yìkǒuqì. Also do not confuse 气 (qì, breath) here with its meaning in 生气 (shēngqì, to get angry). 一口气 has nothing to do with anger.
一口气 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
口 kǒu · mouth · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
气 qì · gas · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 一口气.
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 一样 | yīyàng | same; like |
| 一些 | yīxiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 门口 | ménkǒu | doorway; gate |
| 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] |
| 路口 | lùkǒu | crossing; intersection (of roads) |
Questions about 一口气
What does 一口气 mean?
一口气 (yīkǒuqì) means "one breath; in one breath" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 一口气?
一口气 is made of 3 characters: 一 (1 strokes), 口 (3 strokes), 气 (4 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 一口气 an HSK word?
Yes. 一口气 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 一口气 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 一口气 is written 一口氣.
Can 一口气 be used literally to mean one breath?
Yes. In a sentence like 深吸一口气 (shēn xī yì kǒu qì, take a deep breath), it is a number, a measure word and a noun meaning one breath. As an adverb, it means in one go.
What is the difference between 一口气 and 一下子?
一口气 stresses doing a series of actions or a long task without stopping, like reading a whole book. 一下子 (yíxiàzi) stresses that something happens suddenly or very quickly.