HSK 3 · Time

一直 yìzhí “always” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 一直 means

  1. always
  2. all along
  3. straight
  4. straight (in a straight line)
  5. continuously
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • all the way through

How to say 一直

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale一yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale直zhí2nd tone, rising

Tone change. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. How tone changes work

一直 in a sentence

  1. 今天我一直很忙。

    Jīntiān wǒ yìzhí hěn máng.

    I’ve been busy all day.

    Sentence #9932495 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我一直在想你。

    Wǒ yìzhí zài xiǎng nǐ.

    I’ve been thinking about you the whole time.

    Sentence #2257008 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我一直想学习如何游泳。

    Wǒ yìzhí xiǎng xuéxí rúhé yóuyǒng.

    I’ve always wanted to learn to swim.

    Sentence #1446882 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 一直 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 一 (yī) drawn as one shape
一yīoneyì in 一直

一 is a single shape of 1 stroke. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidOne stroke for one, the way people once counted with rods.

The character 直 (zhí) with each of its parts in a different colour
直zhístraight
  • 十ten · shí
  • 目eye · mù
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidPicture an eye 目 looking straight down a line: straight.

How to write 一直

一 1 strokes · 直 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

一直 (yìzhí) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 一直 (yìzhí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 一直

Words with 一

一yī · one一半yībàn · half一些yīxiē · some一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little一起yìqǐ · together第一dìyī · first一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly一般yìbān · general一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether

Words with 直

直到zhídào · until直接zhíjiē · direct (opposite: indirect 间接)直zhí · straight简直jiǎnzhí · simply垂直chuízhí · vertical直径zhíjìng · diameter直播zhíbō · live broadcast理直气壮lǐzhíqìzhuàng · bold and confident (being in the right)

More words: Time

一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether一会儿yíhuìr · a while一样yíyàng · the same以前yǐqián · before终于zhōngyú · at last周末zhōumò · weekend总是zǒngshì · always

FAQs

一直 (yìzhí) means “always” or “all along”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it yìzhí: yì with a 4th tone, then zhí with a 2nd tone. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 一直 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yizhi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 一直 from the suggestions. Typing yizhi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
一直 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.