Meaning of 仅
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- barely
- only
- merely
How to use 仅
仅 is a formal or written word for "only" and goes before the verb or number it limits. In speech people often say 只 (zhǐ) or 仅仅 (jǐnjǐn) instead. Example: 这家店仅收现金。(Zhè jiā diàn jǐn shōu xiànjīn.) This shop only accepts cash.
仅 has the person radical 亻 on the left and 又 (yòu, again) on the right. Picture one person holding up one hand: only one person, merely one hand, that is all.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 仅 with 汉 (hàn), which has the water radical 氵 instead of the person radical 亻. Also, 仅 is third tone jǐn, not first tone jīn like 今 (jīn, now).
仅 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
仅 jǐn · barely · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 仅.
| 仅仅 | jǐnjǐn | barely; only |
| 不仅 | bùjǐn | not just; not limited to; (as a correlative conjunction) not only (..., but also ...) |
| 不仅仅 | bù jǐnjǐn | not only; not just |
| 仅次于 | jǐn cì yú | second only to ...; ranking behind only ... |
| 仅供 | jǐngōng | only for |
| 仅此而已 | jǐncǐ'éryǐ | (idiom) that's all; just this and nothing more |
| 仅存 | jǐncún | to be the only one(s) remaining; to be the only one(s) surviving |
| 不仅如此 | bùjǐnrúcǐ | not only that, but ... |
| 绝无仅有 | juéwújǐnyǒu | one and only (idiom); rarely seen; unique of its kind |
Questions about 仅
What does 仅 mean?
仅 (jǐn) means "barely; only" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 仅?
仅 is made of 1 character: 仅 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 仅 an HSK word?
Yes. 仅 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 仅 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 仅 is written 僅.
What is the difference between 仅 and 只?
Both mean "only" and usually go before the verb. 只 (zhǐ) is the everyday spoken choice, while 仅 sounds more formal and appears often in writing, news and signs.
How do I use 不仅 in a sentence?
不仅 (bùjǐn) means "not only" and is usually paired with 而且 (érqiě) or 也 (yě) in the second part. Example: 他不仅会说中文，而且会说日语。(Tā bùjǐn huì shuō Zhōngwén, érqiě huì shuō Rìyǔ.) He not only speaks Chinese but also speaks Japanese.