Chinese word

只好

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhǐ hǎo

Meaning

  • adverbhave no choice but

Example

他忘了钥匙，只好在门外等。tā wàng le yào shi zhí hǎo zài mén wài děng

He forgot his keys, so he had no choice but to wait outside the door.

Illustration for 只好 (have no choice but)

More examples

车坏了，我们只好走路回家。chē huài le wǒ men zhí hǎo zǒu lù huí jiā

The car broke down, so we had no choice but to walk home.

Core concept

A narrowing set of possibilities leaves one workable action, accepted without enthusiasm.

Common phrases

  • 只好 放弃zhí hǎo fàng qì

    have no choice but to give up

  • 只好 同意zhí hǎo tóng yì

    have no choice but to agree

  • 只好 等zhí hǎo děng

    have no choice but to wait

Similar words

不得不bù dé bù: Shows that a situation requires an action even when avoiding it would be preferred.
只能zhǐ néng: Shows that circumstances permit only one action or result.
只得zhǐ dé: Shows reluctant acceptance of the one remaining way to act after other options have fallen away.

Definition in Chinese

用于动词前，表示由于条件限制或缺乏选择，只能做出某种勉强的决定，语气偏向无奈。yòng yú dòng cí qián biǎo shì yóu yú tiáo jiàn xiàn zhì huò quē fá xuǎn zé zhǐ néng zuò chū móu zhǒng mián qiǎng de jué dìng yǔ qì piān xiàng wú nài

Word origin

只好 (zhǐhǎo, "only acceptable option") combines 只 (zhǐ, "only") + 好 (hǎo, "acceptable"), presenting the remaining action as the one option that will do.

Usage tips

  • The adverb normally stands directly before the action verb, while a preceding reason helps show why the choice feels forced.

Other meanings

  • can onlyauxiliary verb

Opposites

Word lists with this word