A little

[lokki]

Hello from a newbie, trying to learn on my own.

I have been lurking here for a few days and this is my first post to the forum.

I have seen "a little" as 一点儿 and also the shorter form 一点 and take it they are approximately synonymous.

I am wondering about the difference between the two, if there is any,

such as style, attitude, situations where one is more likely than the

other, or any other comment ?

Cheers lokki

[woliveri]

The first one (一点儿) is Beijing Hua, Beijing Mandarin, or the sound of the Beijing region of China.

The second (一点) one is standard mandarin.

Both mean the same thing.

[Desmond]

They're both read with only 2 syllables. The 儿 changes the "dian" to "diar" (properly spelled dianr in pinyin, but actually sounds like diar)

You can also say 一点点 which is meant to mean "just a little bit"

[optical]

I have a question about this concept..

When I go to order food, they often ask if I want it 辣的 (spicy) and I want to answer "A little spicy" but I'm not sure if I should say

一点点辣的

有点儿辣的

一点辣的

。。。

What is the proper way to say, or is there multiple ways that are ok?

[muyongshi]

Drop the 的 and then 都可以

[skylee]

I would say, 只要一點點辣，不要太辣.

[OracleBone]

一点点辣的

有点儿辣的

一点辣的

all of them are acceptable in spoken language.

but in this situation, I would say:

稍微有点辣就行了。

[chenhely]

You can say 稍微有点辣的也可以，or 微辣，both are all right.

[frankcupid]

儿 often used in Mandarin Chinese as an suffix means little eg. 一点儿(a little), 小孩儿(little child),小猫儿(little cat) except 女儿(daughter)

-儿 is a Beijing spoken usage and standardized as Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, -儿 as a suffix is used in spoken Chinese.

一点=一点点=一点儿(oral) with no difference means a little, a bit.

一点 sounds like one point so we say 一点儿.

pronunciation

-儿/-ar/ 一点 sounds yi4 diar3