<p>「只」means <code>only</code> or 'just'.</p>

<p>他有四本书，可是我<code>只</code>有三本。He has four books, but I <code>only</code> have three.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-07T07:19:48.560Z
2014-11-07T07:19:48.560Z
jkyin
<p>That character can be both a measure word as described in your dictionary, or, when pronounced zhi3, it can mean only, or just. In this case, it is the second, which should make the meaning of your sentences quite apparent. :)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-04T21:37:32.200Z
2014-11-04T21:37:32.200Z
s-cat-z
<p>1.仅;
例: 我只有三本书。 I only have three books.
我只爱你。 I love you only.
2.量词
例：我家有一只小狗。 There is a dog in my home.
一只猫：a cat
一只老虎：a tiger
……</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-07T05:34:41.870Z
2014-11-07T05:34:41.870Z
Allen
<p>In Simplified Chinese, 只 is polyphonic. In the sentence, 只 means <code>only</code>, pronounced zhǐ. The meaning you cited corresponds to another pronunciation, zhī, of the character.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-04T12:20:13.870Z
Thanks. I knew Chinese is polyphonic, but my dictionary doesn't have the meaning in `zhi` section...
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T14:05:11.170Z
You don't have to emphasize "Simplified Chinese", because in traditional Chinese characters, it should also be written as 只 when it is pronounced zhǐ.
Victor
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-13T14:56:36.133Z
@Victor But it is not polyphonic in traditional Chinese, in which case OP would get the correct meaning from the dictionary.
user58955
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-04T12:15:03.927Z
2014-11-04T12:15:03.927Z
user58955
<p>In the following sentence:</p>

<pre><code>他有四本书，可是我只有三本。
</code></pre>

<p>, what does the <code>只</code> mean?</p>

<p>I think the sentence reads <code>He has four books, but I have three.</code></p>

<p>I also read the sentence like <code>我只需要一个叉子</code>, though I cannot get what <code>只</code> works for in the sentence.</p>

<p>Note that when I looked up <code>只</code> in my dictionary, it says the following:</p>

<pre><code>classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc
</code></pre>

<p>So I don't get what it means. What does it function for?</p>

<mandarin><word><adverbs>
What does `只` mean in `他有四本书，可是我只有三本`?
# What does `只` mean in `他有四本书，可是我只有三本`?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-04)

In the following sentence:

```
他有四本书，可是我只有三本。

```

, what does the `只` mean?

I think the sentence reads `He has four books, but I have three.`

I also read the sentence like `我只需要一个叉子`, though I cannot get what `只` works for in the sentence.

Note that when I looked up `只` in my dictionary, it says the following:

```
classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc

```

So I don't get what it means. What does it function for?

**Tags:** mandarin, word, adverbs


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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-11-04. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

In Simplified Chinese, 只 is polyphonic. In the sentence, 只 means `only`, pronounced zhǐ. The meaning you cited corresponds to another pronunciation, zhī, of the character.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks. I knew Chinese is polyphonic, but my dictionary doesn't have the meaning in `zhi` section...  
> **username_5**: You don't have to emphasize "Simplified Chinese", because in traditional Chinese characters, it should also be written as 只 when it is pronounced zhǐ.  
> **username_4**: @username_5 But it is not polyphonic in traditional Chinese, in which case OP would get the correct meaning from the dictionary.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2014-11-07. Score: 2

「只」means `only` or 'just'.

他有四本书，可是我`只`有三本。He has four books, but I `only` have three.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2014-11-04. Score: 2

That character can be both a measure word as described in your dictionary, or, when pronounced zhi3, it can mean only, or just. In this case, it is the second, which should make the meaning of your sentences quite apparent. :)


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### Answer by username_3 on 2014-11-07. Score: 0

1.仅;
例: 我只有三本书。 I only have three books.
我只爱你。 I love you only.
2.量词
例：我家有一只小狗。 There is a dog in my home.
一只猫：a cat
一只老虎：a tiger
……


---

