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Study Mandarin Chinese-- Baidu “一下 (yíxià)”!

With the growing popularity of the internet, people increasingly depend on search engines to find what they want to know, ranging from science, technology, world economy, popular movies and famous stars to the more trivial things in life such as cooking dishes, buying books etc. The most popular search engine in China today is “百度 (băidù) Baidu,” and it is used by hundreds of millions people. The slogan of Baidu is “百度一下，你就知道。(Băidù yíxià, nǐ jiù zhīdào.) Baidu it, you will know.”

In today’s lesson, let’s Baidu the word “一下 (yíxià)” together.

"一下 (yíxià)" is a very popular daily expression in spoken Chinese. It is often used after the verb in sentences to make the tone more light-hearted and stylish without changing the meaning of the sentences.

Here are some examples:

Rúguŏ nǐ bù zhīdào, jiù gǔgē yíxià.
  如果  你  不  知道，就  谷歌  一下。
  
If you don’t know, Google it.

Wŏ xiăng tīng yíxià zhè shŏu gē.
我     想    听   一下 这    首    歌。
  
I want to listen to this song.

Tángcù páigǔ hĕn hăo chī, nǐ lái Zhōngguó de shíhou yídìng yào cháng yíxià.
  糖醋     排骨   很   好  吃，你 来      中国      的   时候    一定   要      尝    一下。
  
Sweet and Sour Spared Ribs are very delicious. If you come to China, you should taste them.

Zhè jiàn qípáo hĕn piàoliang, nǐ shì yíxià.
 这   件   旗袍    很     漂亮，  你  试  一下。
  
This Cheongsam is very beautiful. Just try it on.

Note: “Baidu and Google can be used both as a noun and a verb. As nouns, they refer to their respective website or search engine. As verbs, they indicate to search sth. with Baidu or Google.”