Mandarin: when is it okay to use only 點 instead of 一點?

Question

一點 means "a little" when applied to adjectives. For instance, 快一點 means faster (i.e., fast a little) but often times people shorten 快一點 to 快點.

What is the principle for shortening 一點 to 點?

Can you always shorten it, or does it only apply to certain words like 快? For example can you say 淨點 instead of 淨一點? or 吃點?

Is it only colloquial, or can you also shorten it in writing as well?

Answer 1

Difference between [(adj/adv) + (點)] and [(adj/adv) + (一點)]

'快' = 'fast'

'快點' = 'faster'

'快一點' = 'a little faster'

'早關門' = 'close early'

'早點關門' = 'close earlier'

'早一點關門' = 'close a litter earlier'

Difference between [(點) + (n)] and [(一點) + (n)]

'有本事' = 'have skill'

'有點本事' = 'have some skill'

'有一點本事' = 'have a little bit of skill'

'給我好處' = 'give me benefit'

'給我點好處' = 'give me some benefit'

'給我一點好處' = 'give me a little bit of benefit'

when is it okay to use only 點 instead of 一點?

The reason '點' and '一點' are often used interchangeably is because both 'some' and 'a little bit' have the same implication of 'not a lot'

If you just want to describe something that is 'not in considerable amount' or 'not to a great extend' you can use either 有點 or 有一點

Answer 2

點 「吃點東西吧！」、「一點小事別在意！」

一點 「也少盡一點子心哪。」

一點點 「祇有一點點大。」

一點兒 「大意一點兒」

In most cases these are interchangeable.

We do not omit 一, if there is no verb, adjective or adverb in front of it. For example, 一點小事別在意！