只
only / merely / just / but
只
=
八
+
口
:
Mnemonic symbol: this character looks like something (a head?) on two legs. I'll just represent it by a cuttlefish (只). James II of England (zh) has been in the space station (Ø3) as the only (只) one for too long and went mad. He thinks he's holding a mandarin (口), but he's just about to bite into merely (只) an eight ball (八). On the top of his head is a cuttlefish (只) he mistook for a hat.
只 character breakdown
mouth / classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc) / classifier for bites or mouthfuls
Mnemonic symbol: 口 shall be represented by a mandarin. Karl Marx (k-) is enjoying a mandarin in the outhouse's living room (ou3).
eight; 8
Characters with 只 as component
to amass / to accumulate / to store / measured quantity (such as area of volume) / product (the result of multiplication) / to integrate (math.) / to solve (or integrate) an ordinary differential equation (math.) / old / long-standing
Words with 只
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")
not to mention (idiom); to say not one word / fig. to omit mention (of a non-person or embarrassing topic) / to censor
lit. everything is ready, all we need is an east wind (idiom) / fig. lacking only one tiny crucial item
lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests
everything is ready, all we need is an east wind (idiom) / lacking only one tiny crucial item / also written 萬事俱備，只欠東風|万事俱备，只欠东风