一不留神

yībùliúshén

phrase

Meanings

1 in a moment of carelessness
2 not paying attention for a second

Characters

attention / spirit

Examples

我一不留神把杯子打翻了。

Wǒ yī bù liúshén bǎ bēizi dǎfān le.

I wasn't paying attention for a second and knocked the cup over.

一不留神就错过了站。

Yī bù liúshén jiù cuòguò le zhàn.

One moment of inattention and I missed my stop.

Tips

grammar

Pattern 一不 + verb means 'at the slightest lapse in [verb]'. Common cousins: 一不小心 (one careless moment), 一不注意 (a second of not noticing). 一不留神 is slightly more literary than 一不小心.

Stroke Order

一 yī

不 bù

留 liú

神 shén