只 (zhǐ): only

Meanings

1 only
2 merely
3 just

Characters

只

zhǐ

only; merely; just

Examples

我只有一个问题。

Wǒ zhǐ yǒu yī gè wèntí.

I only have one question.

他只吃了一点。

Tā zhǐ chī le yīdiǎn.

He only ate a little.

我只是想帮你。

Wǒ zhǐshì xiǎng bāng nǐ.

I just want to help you.

Tips

mistakes

Two readings share this character: 只 (3rd tone, adverb 'only / merely') and 只 (1st tone, classifier for one of a pair or for animals — historically written 隻). Tone choice is dictated by grammar: before a verb or quantity it's zhǐ; right after a number it's zhī.

usage

zhǐ pairs with a small set of follow-on words to form the most common patterns: 只是 ('merely'), 只有 ('only if / only have'), 只能 ('can only'), 只好 ('have no choice but'), and 只要 ('as long as'). Learn these as set chunks rather than as 只 plus a separate second word.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Mouth radical on top — the indexing radical. Originally 只 was a sentence-final exclamation particle (a mouth-sound at the end of an utterance), which is why it carries 口. The 'only / merely' adverbial use developed later by phonetic loan; the unrelated zhī classifier meaning was originally written as 隻 and merged into this form during simplification.

ideograph

八 bā

eight; splayed lines

Bottom 八 — two diverging strokes splaying outward. Originally depicted breath or sound waves emanating from the mouth above, fitting the original sentence-final-particle meaning of 只: a sound expelled at the end of an utterance. Pure visual indicator here; the 'eight' meaning of 八 is unrelated.