一度

• Pinyin: yī dù
• Hanzi breakdown: 一 = single horizontal stroke (one); 度 = 广 + 廿 + 又 (shelter/roof + twenty + hand — originally measuring length by hand spans, extended to degree/measure/occasion/time)

Meaning

At one point; once; for a time. Used to indicate that something was the case during a specific past period, implying the situation has since changed.

Functions as a temporal adverb. It marks a past state or condition that no longer holds, adding a retrospective, often reflective or ironic tone. Contrasted with 曾经 (which simply means 'once/in the past') — 一度 more specifically emphasises the temporary or transitional nature of the past state.

Examples

1. 这家老字号餐厅在二十世纪九十年代一度门庭若市，如今却已人去楼空，只剩招牌在风中摇晃。 This long-established restaurant was once packed in the 1990s, but now it’s deserted—only the signboard still sways in the wind.
2. 由于原材料价格持续上涨，该工厂的利润率一度跌至历史最低点，工人们的工资也随之被迫缩减。 As raw material prices kept rising, the factory’s profit margin once fell to a historic low, and workers’ wages were forced to shrink along with it.
3. 这位学者一度被视为该领域最具创见的思想家，然而随着更多原始档案的解密，其核心论断受到了广泛质疑。 This scholar was once seen as one of the most original thinkers in the field, but as more original archives were declassified, his core arguments came under widespread doubt.

Usage Guide

Context: history, journalism, academic writing, biography

Tone: reflective

Do Say

• 这座城市一度是全国最重要的钢铁基地，如今已转型为以高新技术为主的现代都市。(This city was once the country's most important steel base, and it has now transformed into a modern city led by high-tech industries.)
• 该研究所一度因资金链断裂而面临关闭危机，多亏政府及时注资并引进了三家战略合作企业，才得以重获生机并重组研发团队。(The research institute once faced a closure crisis due to a broken funding chain; it was only through timely government capital injection and the introduction of three strategic partner companies that it was able to regain vitality and restructure its R&D team.)

Don't Say

• 他一度去过北京 — 一度 marks a state that persisted over a period, not a single completed visit; use 曾经去过 or 去过一次 for a one-time trip; 一度 with a punctual action like visiting once is unidiomatic

Origin & History

一 (one) + 度 (degree/time/occasion) — literally 'one occasion' or 'one period', evolved to mean 'at a certain point in the past'

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal