Mnemonic comic for 只

mouth / classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc) / classifier for bites or mouthfuls

eight; 8

merely / simply / only / but

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")

can only / obliged to do sth / to have no other choice

only / merely / nothing but / no more than / it's just that ...

without any better option / to have to / to be forced to

not only / not merely

solely engrossed in one thing / just (one thing, no need to worry about the rest) / simply / by all means / please feel free / do not hesitate (to ask for sth)

I'm afraid that... / perhaps / maybe / very likely

to have no alternative but to / to be obliged to

pickpocket

see 獨具隻眼|独具只眼[du2 ju4 zhi1 yan3]

see 天下無難事，只怕有心人|天下无难事，只怕有心人[tian1 xia4 wu2 nan2 shi4 , zhi3 pa4 you3 xin1 ren2]

lit. it is not an official to be feared, but a person in direct control over sb (proverb) / fig. to be obliged to comply with people in authority

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

to only need / it only takes

see 只爭朝夕|只争朝夕[zhi3 zheng1 zhao1 xi1]

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

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

lit. don't worry about not knowing goods, but about comparing them (proverb) / fig. goods' (or person's) true value can only be determined through comparison

can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]); mysterious and subtle