At times you may want to politely diss something using the phrase "a little too." For example, if you are getting lunch with a friend who wants to be seated outside, you might say, "It is a little too hot" to suggest you sit inside. In a case like this, you can use 有一点 (yǒuyīdiǎn) or 有点 (yǒudiǎn). The two are interchangeable.

Structure

To say that something is "a little too..." or "a bit too...," 有一点 (yǒuyīdiǎn) is often used. Its northern Chinese version is 有一点儿 (yǒuyīdiǎnr).

Subj. + 有一点(儿) + Adj.

In spoken Chinese, the 一 (yī) in 有一点 (yǒuyīdiǎn) is often dropped, leaving 有点 (yǒudiǎn). In northern China, that's usually pronounced 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr).

Subj. + 有点(儿) + Adj.

Examples

Negative Connotation

Note that for the speaker, the adjective after 有点 (yǒudiǎn) expresses an unpleasant or undesirable meaning, so you won't hear things like 有点高兴 (yǒudiǎn gāoxìng), 有点舒服 (yǒudiǎn shūfu), 有点好玩儿 (yǒudiǎn hǎowánr), etc., because "happy," "comfortable," and "fun" are all adjectives with positive connotations.

See Also

Sources and further reading

Books

Category:A2 grammar points