Expressing "that's all" with "eryi"

而已 expresses that something is merely what it is. It is like saying "it's only a test, that's all." 而已 is put at the end of the sentence to emphasis that something is just what it is.

Structure

Whenever you need to emphasize that something is just what it is and nothing more, you can stick 而已 at the end of the sentence. You can also use it in combination with 仅仅，只，就，才 and so on , which means "merely," though it is optional.

Subj. + Verb + Obj. + 而已

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 just drank one bottle of beer, how can 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 zhè gè wèntí shàng dáchéngle gòngshì éryǐ.This meeting did not produce a plan of action, only an agreement that there was an issue.
• 这 辆 车 没 什么 特别，它 就 是 辆 普通 的 汽车 而已。Zhè liàng chē méishénme tèbié, tā jiù shì 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

NEEDS SOURCES!!

HSK5