"Once" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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 yī xià (used after a verb) give it a go / to do (sth for a bit to give it a try) / one time / once / in a while / all of a sudden / all at once
 céng jīng once / already / former / previously / ever / (past tense marker used before verb or clause)
 yī dàn in case (sth happens) / if / once (sth happens, then...) / when / in a short time / in one day
 yī dù for a time / at one time / one time / once
 děng class / rank / grade / equal to / same as / to wait for / to await / et cetera / and so on / et al. (and other authors) / after / as soon as / once
 yī cì first / first time / once / (math.) linear (of degree one)
 yǒu yī cì once / once upon a time
 yī jīng as soon as / once (an action has been completed)
 céng once / already / ever (in the past) / former / previously / (past tense marker used before verb or clause)
 dàng shí at once / right away
 chóng xīn again / once more / re-
 zài cì one more time / again / one more / once again
 mǎ shàng at once / right away / immediately / on horseback (i.e. by military force)
 lì kè forthwith / immediate / prompt / promptly / straightway / thereupon / at once
 yī xià zi in a short while / all at once / all of a sudden
 yī biàn one time (all the way through) / once through
 zài dù once more / once again / one more time
 ǒu ěr occasionally / once in a while / sometimes
 lián máng promptly / at once
 zhè jiù immediately / at once
 gǎn kuài at once / immediately
 cóng qián previously / formerly / once upon a time
 yòu yī cì yet again / once again / once more
 dāng xià immediately / at once / at that moment / at the moment
 dāng jí at once / on the spot
 yī tòng one time / once
 lì mǎ at once / immediately / promptly / swiftly
 guò jié to celebrate a festival / after the celebrations (i.e. once the festival is over)
 dēng shí immediately / at once
 jīn cì this / the present (meeting etc) / this time / this once
 jiān rèn to hold several jobs at once / concurrent post / working part-time
 qī zuǐ bā shé lively discussion with everybody talking at once
 huò rán kāi lǎng suddenly opens up to a wide panorama (idiom) / to come to a wide clearing / fig. everything becomes clear at once / to achieve speedy enlightenment
 chóng yòu once again
 ǒu ér occasionally / once in a while
 qiān piān yī lu:4 thousand articles, same rule (idiom) / stereotyped and repetitive / once you've seen one, you've seen them all
 yī fā bù kě shōu shi once it gets started there's no stopping it
 tán huā yī xiàn lit. the night-blooming cactus shows once / flash in the pan (idiom) / short-lived
 yī bǎ zhuā to attempt all tasks at once / to manage every detail regardless of its importance
 jiù at once / right away / only / just (emphasis) / as early as / already / as soon as / then / in that case / as many as / even if / to approach / to move towards / to undertake / to engage in / to suffer / subjected to / to accomplish / to take advantage of / to go with (of foods) / with regard to / concerning
 qiān zǎi nán féng extremely rare (idiom) / once in a blue moon
 yī láo yǒng yì to get sth done once and for all
 sǐ huī fù rán lit. ashes burn once more (idiom) / fig. sb lost returns to have influence / sth malevolent returns to haunt one
 chú gēn to root out / to eliminate the roots / to cure once and for all
 gù dì once familiar places / former haunts
 gù cǐ shī bǐ lit. to attend to one thing and lose sight of another (idiom) / fig. to be unable to manage two or more things at once / cannot pay attention to one thing without neglecting the other
 yī liǎo bǎi liǎo once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved / death ends all one's troubles
 yǒu shǐ yǒu zhōng where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom) / to finish once one starts sth / to carry things through / I started, so I'll finish.
 jiàn yì sī qiān to change at once on seeing sth different (idiom) / loving fads and novelty / never satisfied with what one has
 xià bù wéi lì not to be repeated / not to be taken as a precedent / just this once
 jiù dì once familiar places / former haunts
 bǎi nián bù yù only met with once every hundred years (drought, flood etc)
 lì to stand / to set up / to establish / to lay down / to draw up / at once / immediately
 shàn shǐ shàn zhōng where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom) / to finish once one starts sth / to carry things through / I started, so I'll finish.
 wén fēng ér dòng to respond instantly / to act at once on hearing the news
 zài again / once more / re- / second / another / then (after sth, and not until then) / no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, and then (usually) 也[ye3] or 都[dou1] for emphasis)
 jí namely / that is / i.e. / prompt / at once / at present / even if / prompted (by the occasion) / to approach / to come into contact / to assume (office) / to draw near
 bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times (idiom) / seeing for oneself is better than hearing from many others / seeing is believing
 yī miàn zhī jiāo to have met once / casual acquaintance
 niǎo jìn gōng cáng lit. the birds are over, the bow is put away (idiom) / fig. to get rid of sb once he has served his purpose
 tù sǐ gǒu pēng lit. to boil the hound once it caught the rabbit (idiom) / fig. to get rid of sb once he has served his purpose
 dé Lǒng wàng Shǔ lit. covet Sichuan once Gansu has been seized / fig. endless greed / insatiable desire
 yī chù jí kuì to collapse on the first encounter / to give way at once
 dùn to stop / to pause / to arrange / to lay out / to kowtow / to stamp (one's foot) / at once / classifier for meals, beatings, scoldings etc: time, bout, spell, meal
 xiè mò shā lu:2 lit. to kill the donkey when the grinding is done (idiom) / to get rid of sb once he has ceased to be useful
 yǒu tóu yǒu wěi where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom) / to finish once one starts sth / to carry things through / I started, so I'll finish.
 jī quǎn shēng tiān lit. poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom) / fig. to ride on sb else's success / Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too / Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
 yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom) / once bitten twice shy
 yī cù kě jǐ to succeed at the first try (idiom) / easy as pie / one can do it at once
 rì yuè chóng guāng the sun and moon shine once more / fig. things get back to normal after an upheaval
 bó xiè sāng tián lit. blue seas where once was mulberry fields (idiom, from 史記|史记[Shi3 ji4], Record of the Grand Historian) / time brings great changes / life's vicissitudes
 pō shuǐ nán shōu water once spilt cannot be retrieved (idiom) / irreversible change
 zhuó shǒu chéng chūn lit. set out and it becomes spring (idiom) / to effect a miracle cure (of medical operation) / to bring back the dead / once it starts, everything goes well
 fù shuǐ nán shōu spilt water is difficult to retrieve (idiom) / it's no use crying over spilt milk / what's done is done and can't be reversed / the damage is done / once divorced, there's no reuniting
 yī zhī wéi shèn once is more than enough (idiom)
 ǒu yī wéi zhī to do sth once in a while (idiom) / to do sth more as an exception than the rule
 nu:3 dà shí bā biàn lit. a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood (idiom) / fig. a young woman is very different from the little girl she once was
 jìn shōu yǎn dǐ to take in the whole scene at once / to have a panoramic view
 měi nián yī dù once a year (every year)
 yí dàn if / in case / in a short time / once
 yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom) / fig. to ride on sb else's success / Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too / Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
 yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope / once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
 yī yán jì chū , sì mǎ nán zhuī lit. once said, a team of horses cannot unsay it (idiom) / a promise must be kept
 bù jīng yī fān fēng shuāng kǔ , nán dé là méi tǔ qīng xiāng Without once passing through the winter's cold and wind, where would the sweet spring fragrance come from?
 ǒu yī accidentally / once in a while / very occasionally
 qián chē zhī fù , hòu chē zhī jiàn lit. the cart in front overturns, a warning to the following cart (idiom) / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy
 hòu chē zhī jiàn lit. warning to the following cart (idiom) / don't follow the track of an overturned cart / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy
 Dé Fǎ Nián jiàn Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher (published once in 1844 by Karl Marx and bourgeois radical Arnold Ruge)
 jī bù kě shī , shí bù zài lái Opportunity knocks but once. (idiom)
 měi zhōu yī cì once a week
 shí kù mén "shikumen" style architecture: traditional (ca. 19th century) residences with courtyards, once common in Shanghai
 chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)
 hǎo mǎ bù chī huí tóu cǎo lit. a good horse doesn't turn around and graze the same patch again (idiom) / fig. once you've moved on, don't go back again (romantic relationship, job etc) / leave the past behind
  Write Once, Read Many
 yī xīn èr yòng to do two things at once (idiom) / to multitask / to divide one's attention
 kě yī ér bù kě zài may be done once and once only / just this once
 Yīn used in place-names, e.g. 溵水 / was once the name of the Shahe River 沙河, Henan, and 溵州 / was a Tang Dynasty prefecture
 kāi gōng méi yǒu huí tóu jiàn lit. once you've shot the arrow, there's no getting it back (idiom) / fig. once you started sth, there's no turning back / to have to finish what one started / to be determined to reach one's goals in spite of setbacks
 qí jù yī táng to get together all at once
 hǎo le shāng bā wàng le téng to forget past pains once the wound has healed (idiom)
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