Expressing "that's all" with "eryi"

而已 (éryǐ) comes at the end of a sentence to express that something is merely what it is. It is like saying "it's nothing more than x."

Pattern with 而已 After a Noun

Whenever you need to emphasize that something is just what it is and that's all, you can stick 而已 at the end of the sentence.

Structure

(只是 / 就是 / 才 +) Noun + 而已

You may also see it used in combination with other words like 仅仅，只，就，才 and so on.

Examples

• 一 杯 咖啡 而已，不 要 这么 感动。Yī bēi kāfēi éryǐ, bùyào zhème gǎndòng.It's just a cup of coffee, you don't need to be so moved.
• “ 一千 块 而已 ” ？你 不要 说得 这么 容易。"Yī qiān kuài éryǐ"? nǐ bùyào shuō de zhème róngyì."Only one thousand yuan?" Don't make it sound so easy.
• 只 是 电视剧 而已，现实 中 可 没有 这样 的 事儿。Zhī shì diànshìjù éryǐ, xiànshí zhōng kě méiyǒu zhèyàng de shìr.It's just a TV series. There is no such thing in reality.
• 才 一个 问题 而已，她 就 开始 生气 了。 Cái yī gè wèntí éryǐ, tā jiù kāishǐ shēngqì le.There was only one problem, and she started to get angry.
• 就是 一个 吻 而已，没有 什么 特别 的意思。Jiù shì yī gè wěn éryǐ, méiyǒu shénme tèbié de yìsi.It was just a kiss. It didn't mean anything special.

Pattern with 而已 After a Longer Phrase

Whenever you need to emphasize that something is just what it is and that's all, you can stick 而已 at the end of the sentence.

Structure

Subj. + (只是 / 就是 / 才 / 仅仅 +) Verb + Obj. + 而已

Again, words like 仅仅，只，就，才 are optional, and add more emphasis.

Examples

• 他 只 是 开 个 玩笑 而已，不 要 当 真。Tā zhǐ shì kāi gè wánxiào éryǐ, bùyào dàngzhēn.He's only joking; don't take it seriously.
• 你 才 喝 了 一 瓶 啤酒 而已，怎么 会 喝 醉 了 呢？Nǐ cái hēle yī píng píjiǔ éryǐ, zěnme huì hē zuìle ne?You only drank one bottle of beer, h. How could you be drunk?
• 这 次 会议 没有 达成 具体 的 方案，仅仅 是 在 这 个 问题 上 达成 了 共识 而已。Zhè cì huìyì méiyǒu dáchéng jùtǐ de fāng'àn, jǐnjǐn shì zài zhège wèntí shàng dáchéngle gòngshì éryǐ.This meeting did not produce a specific plan of action, only an agreement that there was an issue.
• 仅仅 是 打了 一 个 电话 而已，我 没有 帮 什么 忙。Jǐnjǐn shì dǎ le yī gè diànhuà éryǐ, wǒ méiyǒu bāng shénme máng.All I did was was make a phone call. I didn't help much.
• 这 辆 车 没 什么 特别 ，它 就是 辆 普通 的 汽车 而已。Zhè liàng chē méi shénme tèbié, tā jiùshì liàng pǔtōng de qìchē éryǐ.This car is nothing special, it's just an ordinary car.

See also

• Expressing "nothing but" with "wufei"

Sources and further reading

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