只不过
zhǐ bu guò
Pinyin

Definition

只不过
 - 
zhǐ bu guò
  1. only
  2. merely
  3. nothing but
  4. no more than
  5. it's just that ...

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
只
zhǐ
  1. 1 only
  2. 2 merely
  3. 3 just
  4. 4 but
不久
bù jiǔ
  1. 1 not long (after)
  2. 2 before too long
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 soon after
不但
bù dàn
  1. 1 not only (... but also...)
不仅
bù jǐn
  1. 1 not only (this one)
  2. 2 not just (...) but also
不到
bù dào
  1. 1 not to arrive
  2. 2 not reaching
  3. 3 insufficient
  4. 4 less than
不同
bù tóng
  1. 1 different
  2. 2 distinct
  3. 3 not the same
  4. 4 not alike
不堪
bù kān
  1. 1 cannot bear
  2. 2 cannot stand
  3. 3 utterly
  4. 4 extremely
不如
bù rú
  1. 1 not equal to
  2. 2 not as good as
  3. 3 inferior to
  4. 4 it would be better to
不妨
bù fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in
  2. 2 might as well
不安
bù ān
  1. 1 unpeaceful
  2. 2 unstable
  3. 3 uneasy
  4. 4 disturbed
  5. 5 restless
  6. 6 worried
不少
bù shǎo
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 a lot
  3. 3 not few
不已
bù yǐ
  1. 1 endlessly
  2. 2 incessantly
不幸
bù xìng
  1. 1 misfortune
  2. 2 adversity
  3. 3 unfortunate
  4. 4 sad
  5. 5 unfortunately
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè]
不得不
bù dé bù
  1. 1 have no choice or option but to
  2. 2 cannot but
  3. 3 have to
  4. 4 can't help it
  5. 5 can't avoid
不得了
bù dé liǎo
  1. 1 desperately serious
  2. 2 disastrous
  3. 3 extremely
  4. 4 exceedingly
不愧
bù kuì
  1. 1 to be worthy of
  2. 2 to deserve to be called
  3. 3 to prove oneself to be
不舍
bù shě
  1. 1 reluctant to part with (sth or sb)
  2. 2 unwilling to let go of
不败之地
bù bài zhī dì
  1. 1 invincible position
不断
bù duàn
  1. 1 unceasing
  2. 2 uninterrupted
  3. 3 continuous
  4. 4 constant

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
  1. 1 stingy (idiom)
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一病不起
yī bìng bù qǐ
  1. 1 to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
  1. 1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
  2. 2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
  3. 3 it's all Greek to me
一笔不苟
yī bǐ bù gǒu
  1. 1 lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
  1. 1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
  2. 2 without a stitch of clothing
  3. 3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
  1. 1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
  2. 2 meticulous
  3. 3 not one hair out of place
一着不慎，满盘皆输
yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū
  1. 1 One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一语不发
yī yǔ bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一蹶不振
yī jué bù zhèn
  1. 1 one stumble, unable to rise (idiom); a setback leading to total collapse
  2. 2 ruined at a stroke
  3. 3 unable to recover after a minor hitch
丈二和尚，摸不着头脑
zhàng èr hé shang , mō bu zháo tóu nǎo
  1. 1 lit. like a three-meter high monk, you can't rub his head (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. at a total loss

Sample Sentences

那也不见得，有些大户人家还是会先用这样的方式给子女找对象，中国传统的婚姻就是主张“门当户对”的，只不过古代的相亲是说了媒，让双方的家人见面，现在的相亲是男女双方和家人一块儿见面。
nà yě bùjiànde ，yǒuxiē dàhù rénjiā háishì huì xiān yòng zhèyàng de fāngshì gěi zǐnǚ zhǎo duìxiàng ，Zhōngguó chuántǒng de hūnyīn jiùshì zhǔzhāng “méndānghùduì ”de ，zhǐ bùguò gǔdài de xiàngqīn shì shuō le méi ，ràng shuāngfāng de jiārén jiànmiàn ，xiàn zài de xiàngqīn shì nánnǚ shuāngfāng hé jiārén yīkuàir5 jiànmiàn 。
Not necessarily, some wealthy families still resort to this kind of thing first to find partners for their sons and daughters. Traditional Chinese marriages advocated unions between families of similar social stature, it's just that in ancient times the arranged dates involved letting the families of the two parties meet after a match was made, now the arranged blind dates involve the two parties and their families meeting together.
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是啊，对比真强。据说春夏秋冬四季之中，还只有这时候最适合游河，只不过一刮风还是觉得有点儿冷。
shì a ，duìbǐ zhēn strong 。jùshuō chūn xià qiūdōng sì jì zhīzhōng ，hái zhī yǒu zhèshíhòu zuì shìhé yóu hé ，zhǐ bùguò yī guā fēng háishì juéde yǒudiǎnr lěng 。
Yes, the contrast is striking. I hear that of all the four seasons, this is the best time for going boating on the river, except that the wind just needs to blow and it's a little too cold.
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她根本在我头上点火。这么多人上班开小差，她都睁一只眼闭一只眼。我只不过迟到三分钟，就让我写检讨书。
tā gēnběn zài wǒ tóushàng diǎnhuǒ 。zhème duō rén shàngbān kāixiǎochāi ，tā dōu zhēngyīzhīyǎnbìyīzhīyǎn 。wǒ zhǐbuguò chídào sān fēnzhōng ，jiù ràng wǒ xiě jiǎntǎo shū 。
She's basically sweeping me away. She turns a blind eye to every other employee that is absent-minded all day. I was only late for three minutes and she made me write a feedback report.
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只不过一半在你家，有什么大不了？邻居不是应该互相帮忙吗？
zhǐ bùguò yībàn zài nǐ jiā ，yǒu shénme dàbùliǎo ？línjū bùshì yīnggāi hùxiāng bāngmáng ma ？
Just half of it is in your home, what's the big deal? Aren't neighbors supposed to help each other out?
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那你叫医生给你全身麻醉好了，睡一觉起来，牙就拔好了，只不过可能有一点危险。
nà nǐ jiào yīshēng gěi nǐ quánshēn mázuì hǎo le ，shuì yī jiào qǐlái ，yá jiù bá hǎo le ，zhǐ bùguò kěnéng yǒu yī diǎn wēixiǎn 。
Then tell your doctor to give you a general anesthetic, then you go to sleep and wake up and your teeth are gone, but it might just be a little bit more risky.
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哎哎哎，你别胡说，血口喷人啊。拿刀的又不是我，我只不过是做了最坏的打算，“未雨绸缪”而已啊。
āi āi āi ，nǐ bié húshuō ，xiěkǒu pēn rén ā 。ná dāo de yòu bú shì wǒ ，wǒ zhǐ búguò shì zuò le zuì huài de dǎsuàn ，“wèiyǔchóumóu ”éryǐ ā 。
Son: Ah, what nonsense! Don't spit your poison at me. I wasn't the one holding the knife. I just planned for the worst case scenario, just planning ahead, that's all.
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对啊，只不过学费贵了些，但也没办法，我们夫妻都要工作，孩子在学校的时间长，绝不能因为价钱而降低标准。
duìa ，zhǐ bùguò xuéfèi guì le xiē ，dàn yě méi bànfǎ ，wǒmen fūqī dōuyào gōngzuò ，háizi zài xuéxiào de shíjiān cháng ，jué bù néng yīnwèi jiàqian ér jiàngdī biāozhǔn 。
Yes, it's just the fees are a little expensive, but there's nothing to be done about it. Both me and my husband work so the children spend a lot of time at school, so you absolutely shouldn't lower your standards just out of price concerns.
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我们家的情况，你不都知道吗？就是平民百姓。家谱很平常啊，以前很多家庭都有。只不过后来人口流动，大家都不重视了就丢失了。
wǒmen jiā de qíngkuàng ，nǐ bù dōu zhīdào ma ？jiùshì píngmín bǎixìng 。jiāpǔ hěn píngcháng ā ，yǐqián hěn duō jiātíng dōu yǒu 。zhǐ bùguò hòulái rénkǒu liúdòng ，dàjiā dōu bù zhòngshì le jiù diūshī le 。
You don't know about our family situation? We're a common family. Family trees are very common. Before many families kept them. It was only after the population became more mobile that everyone stopped paying attention to it and it disappeared.
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上次的《钢铁侠》不也是3D的吗？3D只不过是个加价的噱头。
shàngcì de 《gāngtiěxiá 》bùyě shì 3D de ma ？3D zhǐ bùguò shì gè jiājià de xuétóu 。
Wasn't it “Iron Man” that we saw last time in 3D? 3D is just a trick meant to raise prices.
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唉呀，我们只不过是代工厂。最后成品质量还是由AG把关，反正是他们的牌子。有多少钱办多少事，不要紧的。
àiya ，wǒmen zhǐ bùguò shì dàigōngchǎng 。zuìhòu chéngpǐn zhìliàng háishì yóu AG bǎguān ，fǎnzhèng shì tāmen de páizi 。yǒu duōshao qián bàn duōshao shì ，bùyàojǐn de 。
Look, we're just providing assembly. The quality of the final product is the responsibility of AG. After all, it's their brand. We'll do what we can with the money we've got. Don't worry about it.
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