Dictionary › 只要

只要

zhǐ yào

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 3 2-character word

只要 (zhǐ yào) means "as long as; provided (that)". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 只要 means

1. so long as; provided; if

How 只要 is used in grammar

只要 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• 只要/只有…才…: only if/unless (HSK 4)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 3, conjunctions (连接分句或句子).

The characters in 只要

• 只zhǐonly; merely; just
• 要yàoto want; to need; to ask for; will; shall; about to; need to; should

Example sentences

• 只要十元！
  It only costs $10.00!
• 只要说不。
  Just say no.
• 我只要自由。
  All I want is my freedom.
• 你只要问就好了。
  You have only to ask for it.
• 它只要十元而已!
  It is only ten yuan!
• 我只要你跟我来。
  I just need you to come with me.

Words starting with 只要

• 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēnIf you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.…

Sounds the same

Read zhǐ yào, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 纸鹞kite

Where 只要 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Logical connectives & conjunctions (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read zhǐ yào correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.