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

• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only
• 只 。zhǐ. only

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