一…就
yī…jiù
Flip the switch, the light is on: 一…就
The picture The light comes on at the exact instant the switch is pressed — no time in between. 一…就 lights up the instant it's pressed; 才 only lights up after a long wait and some effort.
Where the picture shows up in 一…就
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clocking out is the switch
我一下班就回家。
wǒ yí xià bān jiù huí jiā
The moment I finish work, I head home.
The hand killing the office lights and the foot turning toward the door moving as one motion.
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the light that comes on every press
他一喝酒就脸红。
tā yì hē jiǔ jiù liǎn hóng
He turns red as soon as he has a drink.
Red rising in both cheeks the instant the glass leaves the lips.
A habit or a body's reaction — 'every time it's pressed, it happens' — is the same picture.
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the instant of arrival
一到公司就给我打电话。
yí dào gōng sī jiù gěi wǒ dǎ diàn huà
Call me as soon as you get to the office.
The phone already coming out of a pocket in the same stride that crosses the office threshold.
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one look and it lit up
这个我一看就懂了。
zhè ge wǒ yí kàn jiù dǒng le
I understood this the moment I saw it.
A head starting to nod at the very moment the eyes land on the page.
All of it in one picture
一…就 wires the first event as the switch and the second as the light. Lights off and feet to the door in one motion is 'the moment work ends'; red cheeks the instant the glass drops is 'as soon as he drinks'; the phone out in the same stride as the threshold is 'as soon as you arrive'. A head nodding as the eyes land is 'understood at first sight'. In every case, no time is left standing between the switch and the light.