衹〔只〕 {zhǐ}

1. but
2. only

秖〔只〕 {zhǐ}

1. but
2. only

隻〔只〕 zek³ {zhī}

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

只 zi² {zhǐ}

1. only
2. merely
3. just
4. but

隻抽〔只-〕 zek³ cau¹ {zhī chōu}

one-on-one fight (slang)

隻揪〔只-〕 zek³ cau¹ {zhī jiū}

to fight a duel

只係〔-系〕 zi² hai⁶ {zhǐ xì}

only (spoken)

只需 zi² seoi¹ {zhǐ xū}

only need

隻身〔只-〕 zek³ san¹ {zhī shēn}

1. alone
2. by oneself

只得 zi² dak¹ {zhǐ dé}

1. to have no alternative but to
2. to be obliged to

只讀〔-读〕 zi² duk⁶ {zhǐ dú}

read-only (computing)

只顧〔-顾〕 zi² gu³ {zhǐ gù}

1. solely preoccupied (with one thing)
2. engrossed
3. focusing (on sth)
4. to look after only one aspect

只管 zi² gun² {zhǐ guǎn}

1. solely engrossed in one thing
2. just (one thing, no need to worry about the rest)
3. simply
4. by all means
5. please feel free
6. do not hesitate (to ask for sth)

只好 zi² hou² {zhǐ hǎo}

1. without any better option
2. to have to
3. to be forced to

只有 zi² jau⁵ {zhǐ yǒu}

only

只要 zi² jiu³ {zhǐ yào}

1. if only
2. so long as

只能 zi² nang⁴ {zhǐ néng}

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

只怕 zi² paa³ {zhǐ pà}

1. I'm afraid that...
2. perhaps
3. maybe
4. very likely

只是 zi² si⁶ {zhǐ shì}

1. merely
2. simply
3. only
4. but

隻揪隻〔只-只〕 zek³ cau¹ zek³ {zhī jiū zhī}

to fight a duel

祇不過〔只-过〕 zi² bat¹ gwo³ {zhǐ bù guò}

it's just that ...

只不過〔--过〕 zi² bat¹ gwo³ {zhǐ bu guò}

1. only
2. merely
3. nothing but
4. no more than

只限於〔--于〕 zi² haan⁶ jyu¹ {zhǐ xiàn yú}

to be limited to

隻言片語〔只--语〕 zek³ jin⁴ pin³ jyu⁵ {zhī yán piàn yǔ}

a few words;a word or two

隻手遮天〔只---〕 zek³ sau² ze¹ tin¹ {zhī shǒu zhē tiān}

the act of deceiving people in broad daylight (spoken)

隻雞斗酒〔只鸡--〕 zek³ gai¹ dau² zau² {zhī jī dǒu jiǔ}

lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests

隻字不提〔只---〕 zek³ zi⁶ bat¹ tai⁴ {zhī zì bù tí}

1. not to mention (idiom); to say not one word
2. fig. to omit mention (of a non-person or embarrassing topic)
3. to censor

只欠東風〔--东风〕 zi² him³ dung¹ fung¹ {zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng}

all we need is an east wind (idiom); lacking only one tiny crucial item

只言片語〔---语〕 zi² jin⁴ pin³ jyu⁵ {zhǐ yán piàn yǔ}

just a word or two (idiom); a few isolated phrases

只說不做〔-说--〕 zi² syut³ bat¹ zou⁶ {zhǐ shuō bù zuò}

to be all talk and no action

只爭朝夕〔-争--〕 zi² zang¹ ziu¹ zik⁶ {zhǐ zhēng zhāo xī}

1. to seize every minute (idiom)
2. to make the best use of one's time

隻眼開隻眼閉〔只-开只-闭〕 zek³ ngaan⁵ hoi¹ zek³ ngaan⁵ bai³ {zhī yǎn kāi zhī yǎn bì}

the attitude of being lenient towards or ignoring something; to turn a blind eye; to look the other way; literally "open an eye, close an eye"

只見樹木不見森林〔-见树--见--〕 zi² gin³ syu⁶ muk⁶ bat¹ gin³ sam¹ lam⁴ {zhǐ jiàn shù mù bù jiàn sēn lín}

1. unable to see the wood for the trees
2. fig. only able to see isolated details, and not the bigger picture

只可意會，不可言傳〔---会----传〕 zi² ho² ji³ wui⁶ ，bat¹ ho² jin⁴ cyun⁴ {zhǐ kě yì huì , bù kě yán chuán}

can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子); mysterious and subtle

只知其一，不知其二 zi² zi¹ kei⁴ jat¹ ，bat¹ zi¹ kei⁴ ji⁶ {zhǐ zhī qí yī , bù zhī qí èr}

to know the first, but not know the second (idiom); only partial information

只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針〔------铁---针〕 zi² jiu³ gung¹ fu¹ sam¹ ，tit³ cyu⁵ mo⁴ sing⁴ zam¹ {zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn}

1. If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
2. cf idiom 磨杵成針, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task
3. to study diligently

只許州官放火，不許百姓點燈〔-许------许--点灯〕 zi² heoi² zau¹ gun¹ fong³ fo² ，bat¹ heoi² baak³ sing³ dim² dang¹ {zhǐ xǔ zhōu guān fàng huǒ , bù xǔ bǎi xìng diǎn dēng}

1. only the official is allowed to light the fire
2. Gods may do what cattle may not
3. quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi