How to Write 衹 (zhǐ) — Meaning “only; just”

Picture a person wearing only (衹) a clan symbol (氏) on their clothing (衤). This visual of a single clan badge on an outfit helps you recall that 衹 means "only" or "just."

Pay attention to the left radical 衤: it starts with a dot, then a horizontal left-falling stroke, a vertical, another left-falling, and a final dot. On the right, 氏 requires a vertical lift stroke (竖提) followed by a slanted hook (斜钩) — do not confuse it with a simple 七.

衹 has 氏 on the right and means "only," while 补 has 卜 (divination) and means "to mend," and 衩 has 叉 (fork) and means "slit." Visually, 氏 has four strokes with a hook, whereas 卜 has two strokes and 叉 has three crossing strokes.

衹 is the traditional Chinese character for the word meaning "only" or "just." In simplified Chinese, it is usually written as 只, so you will most often see 衹 in texts from Taiwan, Hong Kong, or older publications.

Common words containing 衹 include: 衹是 (zhǐ shì) — merely; just; but; 衹有 (zhǐ yǒu) — only; only if; 衹好 (zhǐ hǎo) — to have to; to be forced to.