Expressing "only" with "zhi"

There are a number of different ways to express "only" in Chinese, but 只 (zhǐ) is the most basic one you need to learn first! It's an adverb, so it normally comes before verbs.

Structure

The adverb 只 (zhǐ) can come directly before a verb, or before an auxiliary verb like 会 (huì) or 能 (néng).

只 + Verb

只 + Aux. Verb (+ Verb)

Examples

• 我 只 有 一 个 哥哥。Wǒ zhǐ yǒu yī gè gēge. I only have one elder brother.
• 我们 只 有 十块 钱。Wǒmen zhǐ yǒu shí kuài qián. We only have ten kuai RMB.
• 你 只 是 学生 吗？Nǐ zhǐ shì xuéshēng ma? Are you just a student?
• 我们公司 只 有 两个员工。Wǒmen gōngsī zhǐ yǒu liǎng gè yuángōng. Our company only has two employees.
• 他们 只 会 说 英文。Tāmen zhǐ huì shuō Yīngwén. They can only speak English.
• 我 只 能 说 两 句 中文。Wǒ zhǐ néng shuō liǎng jù Zhōngwén. I can only say two sentences in Chinese.
• 你们 只 要 咖啡 吗？Nǐmen zhǐ yào kāfēi ma? Do you only want coffee?
• 我老婆 只 想 要 一个 孩子。Wǒ lǎopo zhǐ xiǎng yào yī gè hāizi. My wife only wants to have one child.
• 宝宝 只 会 爬，不 会 走。Bǎobao

zhǐ huì pá, bù huì zǒu. The baby can only crawl. He can't walk.

• 我 只 想 跟 你 在 一起。Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng gēn nǐ zài yīqǐ. I only want to be with you.

See also

• "Just" with "jiu"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (p. 87) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (p. 251) →buy