Writing
只有 (zhǐ yǒu) — how to say "only" in Chinese
只有
Only
conjunction joining clauses
How to use it
Joins the parts of a complex sentence, often paired with another conjunction.
只有努力，才能成功。
zhǐ yǒu nǔ lì cái néng chéng gōng
Only by working hard can one succeed.
Character composition
只
only
有
to have
Radicals / Keys
口
Mouth
#30 · kǒu · 3 strokes
月
Moon
#74 · yuè · 4 strokes
Synonyms
Examples
这里只有我一个人在学习。
Here only I am studying alone.
我只有一本书。
I only have one book.
Mnemonic
[zhǐ yǒu-] The bird Zhi and a hedgehog named Yo gather mushrooms 🍄. Zhi finds one mushroom and says: '只有 one!' Hedgehog Yo checks the basket — indeed, only one mushroom. There are no more.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say "only" in Chinese?
"only" in Chinese is 只有 (zhǐ yǒu).
只有 meaning in English
只有 (zhǐ yǒu) means "Only".
How is 只有 pronounced?
It is pronounced zhǐ yǒu (written as zhi you, zhiyou). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "only" in Chinese characters?
It is written 只有: 只 has 5 strokes, 有 has 6 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 只有?
只有 is on the HSK 3.0 level 3 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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