Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 有点儿 AND 一点儿
Sometimes you want to ask for a little more sugar or talk about how cold the weather is.
Both 有点儿 and 一点儿 are adverbs of degree for expressing “a little bit” or “a small amount”, but are used in different situations.
USING 有点儿 FOR “A LITTLE BIT”
有点儿 is used to express “a little bit of” an adjective. 有点儿 is also written as:
- 有一点
- 有一点儿
- or 有点
The four mean the same thing. It’s just that 有点儿 is mostly used in northern parts of China. In spoken Chinese, “一”(yī) is often omitted.
PATTERN
Subject + 有点儿 + Adjective
有点儿 expresses something unpleasant, or undesirable or is used when complaining about a situation.
有点儿 is NEVER used directly with adjectives with positive meanings e.g. 高兴，舒服，开心，喜欢 etc.
USING 有点儿 WITH 不 OR 没
Like we mentioned before, 有点儿 can’t be used directly with adjectives with positive meanings. However, 不/没 can be added after 有点儿。 The sentences maintain a negative connotation.
PATTERN
Subject + 有点儿 + 不/没 + Positive Adjective
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 她有点不舒服，不能来上课。 | tā yǒudiǎn bú shūfú, bùnéng lái shàngkè. | She’s a bit unwell, so she can’t come to class. |
| 他们有点不喜欢他们的新学校。 | tāmen yǒudiǎn bù xǐhuān tāmen de xīn xuéxiào. | They don’t really like their new school. |
| 我有点儿不习惯这里的生活。 | wǒ yǒudiǎn er bù xíguàn zhèlǐ de shēnghuó. | I’m not really used to life here. |
USING 一点儿 FOR SMALL QUANTITIES
一点儿 can be used for requests, comparisons or expressing a small quantity.
一点儿 is also written as 一点. 一点儿 is mostly used in northern China. In spoken Chinese, “一”(yī) is sometimes omitted and pronounced 点 or 点儿 when attached to the preceding adjective.
After an adjective, 一点儿 means “a bit more“.
Before a noun, 一点儿 means the amount of something isn’t of high quantity.
PATTERN
Subject + Adjective + 一点儿 (+ Noun)
一点儿 IN NEGATIVE SENTENCES
一点儿 used with 也不，也没，都不，都没 to express “not at all” or “not even slightly”.
STRUCTURE #1
Subject + 一点 也不/没 + Adjective
STRUCTURE #2
Subject + 一点 + 也/都 + 不/没 + Verb phrase
USING 有一点儿
有一点儿 is used with a noun to mean “have a small amount of something or there is a small amount of something”. Here 有 means “to have/there is”.
In use, the 一 (yī) can be omitted from 有一点儿, but it’s good to remember that it’s different from 有点儿.
PATTERN
Subject + 有一点 儿 + Noun
| CHINESE | PINYIN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 我有一点儿钱。 | wǒ yǒu yìdiǎnr qián. | I have a small amount of money. |
| 我有一点儿经验。 | wǒ yǒu yīdiǎn er jīngyàn | I have a bit of experience. |
| 有一点儿牛奶就好。 | yǒu yīdiǎn er niúnǎi jiù hǎo. | A little bit of milk is fine. |
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FAQS
How to use 一点儿?
Here are the structures for the use of 一点儿:
a) Adjective + 一点儿
Example: 便宜一点儿 or 便宜点儿: A little bit cheaper.
With this use, 一 (yī) can be omitted. Here, 一点儿 means “a bit more”.
b) 一点儿 + noun
Example: 一点儿牛奶: A little bit of milk.
With this use, 一点儿 means the amount of the noun isn’t a lot.
Is there a difference between using 儿 or not?
Minus the difference in dialect and regional use, there is no significant difference between 一点儿 and 一点 or 有点儿 and 有点.
Why know the difference between 一点儿 and 有点儿?
Yes, it really is.
Because Chinese is a contextual language, words that distinguish between positives and negatives are very important. The difference between 一点儿 and 有点儿 are subtle but relevant.
How to use 有点儿?
Here are the structures for the use of 有点儿:
a) 有点儿 + adjective
Example: 有点儿累: A bit tired.
This is used with adjective with negative emotions.
b) 有点儿 + 不/没 + positive adjective
Example: 有点儿不舒服: A bit unwell.
The 不/没 are used to maintain the negative emotions of the use of 有点儿.
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