HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Adverbs

只是 zhǐshì “only” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 只是 means

  1. only
  2. merely
  3. but
  4. however
  5. just
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • nothing but
  • simply

How to say 只是

  • 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 fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale是shì4th tone, falling

只是 in a sentence

  1. 我们只是朋友。

    Wǒmen zhǐshì péngyou.

    We’re just friends.

    Sentence #1869764 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 这只是时间上的问题。

    Zhè zhǐshì shíjiān shàng de wèntí.

    It’s only a matter of time.

    Sentence #3845336 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我只是担心我的体重。

    Wǒ zhǐshì dānxīn wǒ de tǐzhòng.

    I’m just worried about my weight.

    Sentence #1446950 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 只是 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 是 (shì) with each of its parts in a different colour
是shìto be
  • 日sun · rì
  • 疋roll of cloth · pǐ

How to write 只是

只 5 strokes · 是 9 strokes

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

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

Words related to 只是

Words with 只

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

Words with 是

是shì · to be但是dànshì · but总是zǒngshì · always还是háishi · or可是kěshì · but是否shìfǒu · whether (or not)要是yàoshi · if于是yúshì · thereupon就是jiùshì · exactly是非shìfēi · right and wrong

More words: Adverbs & Degree

刚刚gānggāng · just now越来越yuèláiyuè · more and more就要jiùyào · about to总zǒng · always看来kànlái · it seems不用búyòng · no need to常cháng · often实际上shíjìshàng · in fact

FAQs

只是 (zhǐshì) means “only” or “merely”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it zhǐshì: zhǐ with a 3rd tone, then shì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 只是 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhishi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 只是 from the suggestions. Typing zhishi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
只是 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 4 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.