"Only" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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 bù guò only / merely / no more than / but / however / anyway (to get back to a previous topic) / cannot be more (after adjectival)
 wéi yī only / sole
 piān piān (indicates that sth turns out just the opposite of what one would wish) unfortunately / as it happened / (indicates that sth is the opposite of what would be normal or reasonable) stubbornly / contrarily / against reason / (indicates that sb or a group is singled out) precisely / only / of all people
 wú fēi only / nothing else
 wéi dú only / just (i.e. it is only that...) / all except / unique
 jiù at once / right away / only / just (emphasis) / as early as / already / as soon as / then / in that case / as many as / even if / to approach / to move towards / to undertake / to engage in / to suffer / subjected to / to accomplish / to take advantage of / to go with (of foods) / with regard to / concerning
 cái (variant of 才[cai2]) just now / (before an expression of quantity) only
 guāng light / ray / CL:道[dao4] / bright / only / merely / to use up
 zhǐ shì merely / simply / only / but
 zhǐ bu guò only / merely / nothing but / no more than / it's just that ...
 jǐn jǐn barely / only / merely / only (this and nothing more)
 dān yī single / only / sole
 wéi yǒu only
 wéi yī only / sole / variant of 唯一[wei2 yi1]
 dān dān only / merely / just
 bì jīng unavoidable / the only (road, entrance etc)
 wéi dú only / solely / this one alone
 dú shēng only (child) / to be the sole survivor
 dàn but / yet / however / only / merely / still
 dān bill / list / form / single / only / sole / odd number / CL:個|个[ge4]
 ér qiě (not only ...) but also / moreover / in addition / furthermore
 zhǐ yǒu only have ... / there is only ... / (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if one ... (that one can ...) (Example: 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 ... (who ...) (Example: 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 indicate that one has no alternative) one can only (do a certain thing) (Example: 只有屈服[zhi3 you3 qu1 fu2] "the only thing you can do is give in")
 dāng rán only natural / as it should be / certainly / of course / without doubt
 zhǐ yào if only / so long as
 zhǐ néng can only / obliged to do sth / to have no other choice
 bù jǐn not only (this one) / not just (...) but also
 bù dàn not only (... but also...)
 jǐn gōng only for
 bà le a modal particle indicating (that's all, only, nothing much)
 chú fēi only if (..., or otherwise, ...) / only when / only in the case that / unless
 bù zhǐ not only / not merely
 dàn yuàn if only (sth were possible) / I wish (that)
 dú yǒu to own exclusively / unique to / specific / there is only
 bù guāng not the only one / not only
 diǎn zhuì to decorate / to adorn / sprinkled / studded / only for show
 fāng néng can then (and only then)
 zhǐ gù solely preoccupied (with one thing) / engrossed / focusing (on sth) / to look after only one aspect
 mí hu muddle-headed / dazed / only half conscious
 fēi dàn not only
 bù dān not the only / not merely / not simply
 jǐn cì yú second only to... / (in second place) preceded only by...
 tiān jī mystery known only to heaven (archaic) / inscrutable twist of fate / fig. top secret
 dān zǐ the only son of a family / (functional programming or philosophy) monad
 shùn lǐ chéng zhāng logical / only to be expected / rational and clearly structured (of text)
 qīng yī sè monotone / only one ingredient / (mahjong) all in the same suit
 Mèng zǐ Mencius (c. 372-c. 289 BC), Confucian philosopher second only to Confucius / book of the same name, one of the classics of Confucianism
 qīng chá green tea / only tea (without food)
 dú shēng zǐ nu:3 an only child
 fāng zhī to realize only then
 dà tóng xiǎo yì virtually the same / differing only on small points
 jué wú jǐn yǒu one and only (idiom) / rarely seen / unique of its kind
 tān wán to only want to have a good time / to just want to have fun, and to shy away from self-discipline
 dài yè to await job assignment (term used only in mainland China)
 jí gōng jìn lì seeking instant benefit (idiom) / shortsighted vision, looking only for fast return
 nèi cān restricted document, available only to certain individuals such as high-ranking Party officials (abbr. for 內部參考|内部参考) / (literary) palace eunuch
使 jié dù shǐ Tang and Song dynasty provincial governor, in Tang times having military and civil authority, but only civil authority in Song
 rè téng téng steaming hot / (fig.) bustling / hectic / (fig.) excited / stirred up / (fig.) created only a short time before / freshly minted / hot off the press / (coll.) also pr. [re4 teng1 teng1]
 yī zhī dú xiù lit. only one branch of the tree is thriving (idiom) / fig. to be in a league of one's own / outstanding
 wú dú yǒu ǒu not alone but in pairs (idiom, usually derog.) / not a unique occurrence / it's not the only case
 xiǎo huáng dì child emperor / (fig.) spoiled child / spoiled boy / pampered only child
 bì yóu zhī lù the road one must follow or take / the only way
 bàn tiáo mìng half a life / only half alive / barely alive / (scared, beaten etc) half to death
 qǐ zhǐ not only / far from / more than
 chún wén zì text only (webpage)
 wàng chén mò jí lit. to see only the other rider's dust and have no hope of catching up (idiom) / to be far inferior
 dú zǐ only son
 xíng shī zǒu ròu walking corpse (idiom) / zombie / person who lives only on the material level
 zhǐ xiāo to only need / it only takes
 zhì biāo to treat only the symptoms but not the root cause
 fāng square / power or involution (math.) / upright / honest / fair and square / direction / side / party (to a contract, dispute etc) / place / method / prescription (medicine) / just when / only or just / classifier for square things / abbr. for square or cubic meter
 jiā tú sì bì lit. with only four bare walls for a home (idiom) / fig. very poor / wretched
 dú shēng zǐ only son
 dú shēng nu:3 an only daughter
 tān shēng pà sǐ greedy for life, afraid of death (idiom) / craven and cowardly / clinging abjectly to life / only interested in saving one's neck
 kě yù bù kě qiú can be discovered but not sought (idiom) / one can only come across such things serendipitously
 bù dú not only
 bù èr fǎ mén the one and only way / the only proper course to take
 Zhōng guó Yín lián China UnionPay (CUP), China's only domestic bank card organization
 cì yú second after / second only to
 yǒu míng wú shí lit. has a name but no reality (idiom) / exists only in name / nominal
 jiù yóu zì qǔ to have only oneself to blame (idiom) / to bring trouble through one's own actions
 huàn tāng bù huàn yào different broth but the same old medicine (idiom) / a change in name only / a change in form but not in substance
 bǎi nián bù yù only met with once every hundred years (drought, flood etc)
 àn tú suǒ jì lit. looking for a fine horse using only a picture (idiom) / fig. to do things along rigid, conventional lines / to try and find sth with the help of a clue
 yīn xiǎo shī dà to save a little only to lose a lot (idiom)
 yǒu lài (of an outcome) to rely on / to require / can only be achieved by means of
 yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě lit. drinking poison in the hope of quenching one's thirst (idiom) / fig. a supposed remedy that only makes matters worse
 lín shí bào fó jiǎo lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet when danger arises (idiom) / fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / doing things at the last minute / making a hasty last-minute effort
 shuò guǒ jǐn cún only remaining of the great (idiom) / one of the few greats extant
 bù wéi not only
 qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ lit. to stop after taking just a sip (idiom) / fig. to gain only a superficial knowledge of sth and then stop
 shí shí wù zhě wèi jùn jié Only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends (idiom). A wise man submits to circumstances.
 bù qiú shèn jiě lit. not requiring a detailed understanding (idiom) / only looking for an overview / not bothered with the details / superficial / content with shallow understanding
 yī yī dài shuǐ (separated only by) a narrow strip of water
 liàng rù wéi chū to assess one's income and spend accordingly (idiom) / to live within one's means / You can only spend what you earn.
 dài jià ér gū to sell only for a good price (idiom) / to wait for a good offer
 Jǐ only used in 濟濟|济济[ji3 ji3]
 fēi dú not only / not merely
 shǐ to begin / to start / then / only then
 tú jù to only have
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