<p>“只” means “by no means more than”，“only”.
If you add this word, this means you have no more than ……, <strong>at most</strong> I have……</p>

<p>Compare:</p>

<p>1) I have <strong>no more than</strong> 2 dresses（我**只有**2件衣服）</p>

<p>2) I have 2 dresses（我有2件衣服，可能还有，但是未提及）</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-24T01:50:21.270Z
2014-04-24T01:50:21.270Z
xqMogvKW
<p>My Chinese teacher recently introduced us to the character 只. Specifically, using it to mean "only".</p>

<p>However, all of the examples that she gave were things, like:</p>

<pre><code>A:你有没有X和Y？

B:没有Y，我只有X。
</code></pre>

<p>As in, to use 只 to specify only one out of a list of different things. However, I was curious, could you use 只 to indicate a smaller number of something? For example, could you say something like:</p>

<pre><code>A:你有三件旗袍。对不对？

B:不对。我只有两件旗袍。
</code></pre>

<p>Thank you.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-24T01:31:29.593Z
YES! Of course you can! Good thinking!
ChineseHulu.com
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-24T02:49:23.170Z
Yes you can. `只` not just means "only one of", but also means "only part of". eg: Q:Do you finished cooking? A:No, I 只 cooked vegetable A, vegetable B, meat C, I haven't cooked meat D, vegetable E, and the soup F.
LiuYan 刘研
<grammar><usage>
Can 只有 be used in this context?
# Can 只有 be used in this context?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-04-24)

My Chinese teacher recently introduced us to the character 只. Specifically, using it to mean "only".
However, all of the examples that she gave were things, like:
A:你有没有X和Y？

B:没有Y，我只有X。

As in, to use 只 to specify only one out of a list of different things. However, I was curious, could you use 只 to indicate a smaller number of something? For example, could you say something like:
A:你有三件旗袍。对不对？

B:不对。我只有两件旗袍。

Thank you.

**Tags:** grammar, usage
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: YES! Of course you can! Good thinking!  
> **username_2**: Yes you can. `只` not just means "only one of", but also means "only part of". eg: Q:Do you finished cooking? A:No, I 只 cooked vegetable A, vegetable B, meat C, I haven't cooked meat D, vegetable E, and the soup F.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-04-24. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

“只” means “by no means more than”，“only”.
If you add this word, this means you have no more than ……, **at most** I have……

Compare:

1) I have **no more than** 2 dresses（我\*\*只有\*\*2件衣服）

2) I have 2 dresses（我有2件衣服，可能还有，但是未提及）


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