一直 meaning in English
straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through
Meaning of 一直
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- straight (in a straight line)
- continuously; always; all the way through
How to use 一直
一直 goes before the verb to say something keeps happening or has been true all along, and it can also mean going straight in a direction. Example: 我一直在等你。(Wǒ yīzhí zài děng nǐ.) I have been waiting for you the whole time. For directions you will hear 一直走 (yīzhí zǒu), go straight ahead.
一 (yī) means one and 直 (zhí) means straight, so 一直 is one straight line. Picture a road that goes on without turning, and you get both meanings: going straight ahead and continuing without a break.
Common mistake: Learners often put 一直 after the verb or at the end of the sentence, as in 我等你一直. It must come before the verb: 我一直等你. Also, 一 changes tone here because 直 is second tone, so it is said yí zhí, not yī zhí.
一直 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
直 zhí · straight · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 一直.
| 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 |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 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] |
| 有一些 | yǒuyīxiē | somewhat; rather |
| 一定 | yīdìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled |
| 直接 | zhíjiē | directly; direct |
Questions about 一直
What does 一直 mean?
一直 (yīzhí) means "straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 一直?
一直 is made of 2 characters: 一 (1 strokes), 直 (8 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 一直 an HSK word?
Yes. 一直 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 一直 and 总是 (zǒngshì)?
一直 means something continues without stopping over a period, like 他一直在学习 (he has been studying the whole time). 总是 means something happens again and again as a habit, like 他总是迟到 (he is always late).
Can 一直 be used with past and future time?
Yes. 一直 is not tied to one tense. You can say 我以前一直住在北京 (I always lived in Beijing before) or 我会一直爱你 (I will always love you).