HSK 2 grammar · pattern
不一会儿
不一会儿 — in a short while / before long
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
不一会儿 is a set time phrase meaning "after only a short while", "before long". It usually opens the second clause to show that little time passed before the next thing happened.
Examples
不一会儿，他就回来了。
Bù yíhuìr, tā jiù huílái le.
Before long, he came back.
我们等了不一会儿，车就来了。
Wǒmen děng le bù yíhuìr, chē jiù lái le.
We waited only a short while and the bus came.
不一会儿雨就停了。
Bù yíhuìr yǔ jiù tíng le.
In a little while the rain stopped.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 不一会儿 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.