Chinese word dictionary

只有

zhǐyǒu · only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 quan2 yu4] "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[zhi3 you3 nan2 xing4 cai2 you3 ci3 xu1 yao4] "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[zhi3 you3 qu1 fu2] "the only thing you can do is give in")

Practice word

Word information

Simplified只有

Traditional只有

Pinyinzhǐyǒu

Part of speech连

HSK 3.03

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

只zhī

only, merely, just

有yǒu

to have, to own, to possess; to exist

How to learn 只有

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

没有méiyǒu

haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be

有yǒu

to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional)

有的yǒude

(there are) some (who are...); some (exist)

有点儿yǒudiǎnr

slightly; a little; somewhat

有些yǒuxiē

some; somewhat

只zhī

classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc; grain that has begun to ripen; variant of 隻|只[zhi1]