▎一連, yìlián, (Adv), without interruption, in rapid succession

 

Function The adverb 一連 refers to the duration of an activity without interruption (2, 3), or to the occurrence of instances in rapid succession (1, 4, 5).

1 學生一連問了五個問題，老師聽到第五個已經忘了第一個了。

Xuéshēng yìlián wènle wǔ ge wèntí, lǎoshī tīngdào dìwǔ ge yǐjīng wàngle dìyī ge le.

The students fired off five questions right in a row, and after hearing the fifth the teacher forgot what the first one was.

2 我已經一連三天沒睡覺了，都快生病了。

Wǒ yǐjīng yìlián sān tiān méi shuìjiào le, dōu kuài shēngbìng le.

It’s been three full days since I’ve slept. I am going to be sick.

3 昨天她一連工作了十六個小時，回家的時候已經半夜一點了。

Zuótiān tā yìlián gōngzuòle shíliù ge xiǎoshí, huíjiā de shíhòu yǐjīng bànyè yìdiǎn le.

She worked for 16 hours straight yesterday, and by the time she got home it was already 1 o’clock in the morning.

4 最近一連來了兩個大颱風，上一個來的時候壞了的東西還來不及恢復，這一個就來了。

Zuìjìn yìlián láile liǎng ge dà táifēng, shàng yí ge lái de shíhòu huài le de dōngxi hái láibují huīfù, zhè yí gè jiù lái le.

The last two typhoons came in rapid succession. There wasn’t enough time to fix the damages from the first before the second one landed.

5 為了找一本很舊的書，他一連問了好幾家書店，最後才在一家舊書店找到。

Wèile zhǎo yì běn hěn jiù de shū, tā yìlián wènle hǎojǐ jiā shūdiàn, zuìhòu cái zài yì jiā jiù shūdiàn zhǎodào.

He inquired at one bookstore after another after another, looking for a really old book, until finally he found it at a vintage bookstore.

 

Usage

(1) 一連 is always followed by a number phrase (五個…, 三天, 十六個小時, etc.). See examples above.

(2) When the verb is negated, the number phrase is moved to directly after 一連. See 2 above.

(3) 一口氣 vs. 一連 一連 allows for interruption in between successive actions and instances. 一口氣 does not allow for interruption. 一連 is used in multiple instances, and 一口氣 in a single instance.