一晃 yíhuàng in an instant
(of passing time) in an instant; (of a sight) in a flash
How to remember 一晃: 一 one + 晃 bright = in an instant.
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How it is used
- Two readings/senses. Time: 'in a flash, before you know it' - 一晃十年过去了 (yíhuàng shí nián guòqù le) ten years slipped by in a blink. Sight: something flashing past - 人影一晃就不见了 (rényǐng yíhuàng jiù bújiàn le) the figure flashed by and vanished.
- The time sense is the emotional one, marking how fast time has flown; very common in reflective speech.
- Note the reading yíhuàng here (huǎng 'bright' shifts to huàng 'to sway/flash').