HSK 3 · VERSION 2.0#11

Expressing “Only” with “zhǐ”

只

zhǐ

How it works

只 means “only.”

Subject + 只 + Verb / Quantity / Noun Phrase

我今天只喝了一杯咖啡。

Wǒ jīntiān zhǐ hē le yì bēi kāfēi.

I only drank one cup of coffee today.

这个班只有十个学生。

Zhège bān zhǐ yǒu shí ge xuésheng.

This class only has ten students.

我只想休息一下。

Wǒ zhǐ xiǎng xiūxi yíxià.

I only want to rest a little.

只 limits the amount, person, or action.