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How to say “only if” in Chinese with 只有 (zhǐyǒu)

只有 (zhǐyǒu) + Condition, 才 (cái) + Result

只有 (zhī yǒu) — only if

HSK 3Conditional Statements

Rule structure

只有 (zhǐyǒu)… 才 (cái)… is a stronger conditional meaning "only if… then…" emphasizing the condition is the sole requirement.

Examples

只有你去，我才去。

Zhǐyǒu nǐ qù, wǒ cái qù.

Only if you go will I go.

只有他知道我才放心。

Zhīyǒu tā zhīdào wǒ cái fàngxīn.

Only if he knows can I feel at ease.

只有你来我才开心。

Zhǐyǒu nǐ lái wǒ cái kāixīn.

Only if you come will I be happy.

Practice

Build the sentence

Drag the characters to put them in the correct order

Characters

Words from this rule

只

zhī

Measure word for animals, etc.

有

yǒu

To have

才

cái

Only then, just

你

nǐ

You

去

qù

To go

我

wǒ

I, me

他

tā

He

知道

zhīdào

To know

放心

fàngxīn

To rest assured

来

lái

To come

开心

kāixīn

Happy, joyful

告诉

gàosu

To tell someone

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “only if” in Chinese with 只有?

Use the structure: 只有 (zhǐyǒu) + Condition, 才 (cái) + Result. For example: 只有你去，我才去。 — “Only if you go will I go”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

只有你去，我才去。 — “Only if you go will I go”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 3.

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More HSK 3 grammar rules

才 — only after, not until

Condition, + 才 (cái) + Result

只要 — as long as

只要 (zhǐyào) + Condition, 就 (jiù) + Result

一边 — doing two things at once

一边 (yìbiān) + Verb 1, 一边 (yìbiān) + Verb 2

如果…就 — if… then…

如果 (rúguǒ)……，就 (jiù)……

万 — big numbers

Number + 万 (wàn) / 亿 (yì)

地 — turning adjectives into adverbs

Adj. + 地 (de) + Verb

AA — reduplicating adjectives

AA / AABB

想 — as one likes

想 (xiǎng) + Verb Phrase with Question Word + 就 (jiù) + Same Verb Phrase