Writing
只要 (zhǐ yào) — how to say "only need" in Chinese
只要
Only need; as long as
conjunction joining clauses
How to use it
Joins the parts of a complex sentence, often paired with another conjunction.
只要努力，就会成功。
zhǐ yào nǔ lì jiù huì chéng gōng
As long as you work hard, you will succeed.
Character composition
只
only
要
to want, to need
Radicals / Keys
口
Mouth
#30 · kǒu · 3 strokes
襾
Cover
#146 · yà · 6 strokes
Examples
只要每天坚持练习半个小时，你的汉语水平一定会有很大的进步。
As long as you practice for half an hour every day, your Chinese proficiency will definitely improve greatly.
只要你来。
As long as you come.
Mnemonic
[zhǐ yào-] Hammy Zhi checks one condition at his burrow: "只要 one single seed in my paw — and I'm already full and happy." He places exactly one seed in his paw, and that alone is enough: his mood turns good at once. As long as this one condition is met, the result follows. 🌻
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "only need" in Chinese?
"only need" in Chinese is 只要 (zhǐ yào).
只要 meaning in English
只要 (zhǐ yào) means "Only need; as long as".
How is 只要 pronounced?
It is pronounced zhǐ yào (written as zhi yao, zhiyao). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "only need" in Chinese characters?
It is written 只要: 只 has 5 strokes, 要 has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 只要?
只要 belongs to the HSK 4 vocabulary list.
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