Translation of 点儿。

[MengJiaSheng]

I know that it seems to be a simple question. But lets say you have a sentence like "顺便买了点儿菜来。 Would you really translate the 点儿 as " a little" as most dictionaries give it or would it be alright to translate it as "some" as well?

[renzhe]

My New Century Chinese-English Dictionary defines it as "a little; a bit; some".

[HashiriKata]

顺便买了点儿菜来。 Would you really translate the 点儿 as " a little" as most dictionaries give it or would it be alright to translate it as "some" as well?

The question is not how you would translate "点儿" or what other sources say about "点儿". The question is how you would say "顺便买了点儿菜来" in idiomatic English.

[siriut]

That's right.点儿means “a little,some”in this sentence.

the meaning of this sentence is "buy some vegetables in passing"