HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Modal

只能 zhǐnéng “can only” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 只能 means

  1. can only
  2. have no choice but
  3. obliged to do sth
  4. to have no other choice

How to say 只能

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale只zhǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale能néng2nd tone, rising

只能 in a sentence

  1. 我只能给你十分钟。

    Wǒ zhǐnéng gěi nǐ shí fēnzhōng.

    I can only give you ten minutes.

    Sentence #1313913 from Tatoeba

  2. 这个你只能用一次。

    Zhè ge nǐ zhǐnéng yòng yí cì.

    You can only use this once.

    Sentence #8689186 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我只能走路，因为打不到出租车。

    Wǒ zhǐnéng zǒulù, yīnwèi dǎ bu dào chūzūchē.

    I have to walk because I can’t get a taxi.

    Sentence #1888675 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 只能 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 只 (zhī) with each of its parts in a different colour
只zhǐonly; merely; just
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 八eight · bā

Memory aidA mouth 口 above two strokes 八. It is the simplified form of both 隻 (one bird) and 衹 (only).

The character 能 (néng) with each of its parts in a different colour
能néngcan
  • 厶private · sī
  • ⺼meat form of 肉 · ròu
  • 匕spoon · bǐ
  • 匕spoon · bǐ

Memory aidDrawn from a bear. It was borrowed for “can, be able to”.

How to write 只能

只 5 strokes · 能 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

只能 (zhǐnéng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 只能 (zhǐnéng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 只能

Words with 只

只zhī · measure word for animals (a cat只有zhǐyǒu · only只是zhǐshì · only只好zhǐhǎo · to have no other option but to …只要zhǐyào · if only

Words with 能

能néng · can可能kěnéng · maybe能力nénglì · capability能够nénggòu · to be able to能干nénggàn · capable能源néngyuán · energy功能gōngnéng · function职能zhínéng · function能量néngliàng · energy性能xìngnéng · performance

More words: Modal & Auxiliary Verbs

该gāi · should能够nénggòu · to be able to

FAQs

只能 (zhǐnéng) means “can only” or “have no choice but”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it zhǐnéng: zhǐ with a 3rd tone, then néng with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 只能 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhineng with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 只能 from the suggestions. Typing zhineng into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
只能 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 3 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.