只

zhǐzhī

only; merely; just

How to write 只, stroke by stroke

zhǐ: only; merely; just
zhī: classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc; grain that has begun to ripen

Ideographic: Simple words 八 coming from the mouth 口

Made of 口 + 八

只是zhǐ shìmerely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however
只有zhǐ yǒuonly have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通过治疗才能痊愈 "the only way to cure it is with therapy"); it is only (someone) who ... (as in 只有男性才有此需要 "only men would have such a requirement"); (used to express lack of alternatives) can only; have no choice but to (as in 只有屈服 "the only thing you can do is give in")
只要zhǐ yàoso long as; provided; if
只能zhǐ néngcan only; obliged to do sth; to have no other choice
只不过zhǐ bu guòonly; merely; nothing but; no more than; it's just that ...
只好zhǐ hǎoto have no other option but to ...; to have to; to be forced to
只管zhǐ guǎnsolely engrossed in one thing; just (one thing, no need to worry about the rest); simply; by all means; please feel free; do not hesitate (to ask for sth)
船只chuán zhīship; boat; vessel
只顾zhǐ gùto focus solely on; to pay attention only to; to be preoccupied with
只得zhǐ déto have no alternative but to; to be obliged to
只见zhǐ jiànto see (the same thing) over and over again; to see, to one's surprise, (sth happen suddenly)
只怕zhǐ pàI'm afraid that...; perhaps; maybe; very likely

我只是说说而已！
wǒ zhǐ shì shuō shuō ér yǐ ！
I'm just saying!
你只不过是一个学生。
nǐ zhī bú guò shì yí gè xué shēng 。
You are nothing but a student.
只有早上5点，但天已经亮了。
zhǐ yǒu zǎo shàng 5 diǎn ， dàn tiān yǐ jīng liàng le 。
It's just five in the morning, but nevertheless it is light out.
现代船只只需要一小组的船员。
xiàn dài chuán zhī zhī xū yào yì xiǎo zǔ de chuán yuán 。
Modern ships only need a small crew.
你只会逃避生活问题。
nǐ zhī huì táo bì shēng huó wèn tí 。
You're just running away from life's problems.