Kilo Lingo

(diǎn ér) - a little, a bit, a tiny amount in Mandarin

diǎnér

Traditional: 點兒

Line drawing of 点儿
Coloured illustration of 点儿
#1929 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

a little, a bit, a tiny amount

Word origin

Formed from 点 (diǎn, dot, a small amount) with the northern retroflex suffix 儿 (ér), softening it into the colloquial sense of a little bit.

Origin
compound
Root
点 (diǎn, dot, small amount) + 儿 (ér, retroflex suffix)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 点

Stroke order for 儿

Examples

Please give me a little water.

It is a bit cold today.

Could you be a bit quicker?

I only ate a little food.

Speak a little more Chinese.

点儿 (diǎn ér) is the colloquial form of 一点儿, meaning a little or a bit. It is heavily used in northern spoken Mandarin to express a small quantity or degree.

Where this fits

Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

点儿: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "点儿" (a little, a bit, a tiny amount): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 39.