只 zhǐ — only, merely
zhǐ (third tone, dipping)zhi3
only, merely
HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)Level 3· Three-band, nine-level standardadverb
Meanings
only, merely
Limits what follows it. Being an adverb, it goes before the verb, and it restricts whatever comes after: 我只喝茶 I drink only tea, 我只有五块钱 I have only five yuan.
adverbread zhī: classifier for animals and for one of a pair
measureThe same character read zhī counts animals — 一只猫, 一只鸟, 一只熊猫 — and one of a natural pair, 一只手. In traditional writing the two are different characters: 只 for zhǐ, 隻 for zhī.
Example sentences
- 我只喝茶，不喝咖啡。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) zhǐ (third tone, dipping) hē (first tone, high and level) chá, (second tone, rising) bù (fourth tone, falling) hē (first tone, high and level) kāfēi. (first tone, high and level)···
I drink only tea, not coffee.
- 他只买了一本书。他只買了一本書。Tā (first tone, high and level) zhǐ (third tone, dipping) mǎile (third tone, dipping) yì (fourth tone, falling) běn (third tone, dipping) shū. (first tone, high and level)···
He bought only one book.
Common mistakes
Not quite我有只五块钱。
Correct我只有五块钱。
只 is an adverb, so it stands in front of the verb, not in front of the number. 只有 — "only have" — is the shape this sentence takes, and it is the same 只有 that opens 只有…才… .