一转眼

一轉眼
yīzhuǎnyǎn
phrase #26,288

Meanings

  1. 1 in the blink of an eye
  2. 2 in an instant
  3. 3 very quickly

Examples

Yī zhuǎn yǎn, háizimen dōu zhǎngdà le.
In the blink of an eye, the children have all grown up.
Yī zhuǎn yǎn sān nián guòqù le, wǒmen zàicì xiāngyù.
In what felt like a flash, three years had passed and we met again.

Tips

memory
Visualize literally turning () your eye () for just a moment — that instant is how quickly time passes. The image of a single eye-turn captures the meaning of sudden passage of time.

Stroke Order

zhuǎn
yǎn