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一(yī) — meaning, uses and examples

1. numeral one

   我有一个问题。

   Wǒ yǒu yī ge wèntí.

   I have a question.

2. numeral whole; full (as in 一屋子人)

   屋子里一团糟。

   Wūzi lǐ yī tuán zāo.

   The room is a complete mess.

3. adjective same; uniform (as in 一样, 一致)

   他们俩的看法不完全一致。

   Tāmen liǎ de kànfǎ bù wánquán yīzhì.

   The two of them don't see entirely eye to eye.

4. adverb once; as soon as (often with 就)

   他一到家就给我打电话了。

   Tā yī dào jiā jiù gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà le.

   As soon as he arrived home, he called me.

5. adverb briefly; give it a try (between reduplicated verbs)

   请让我看一看。

   Qǐng ràng wǒ kàn yī kàn.

   Please let me have a look.