只
zhī
HSK 4
#97 most
frequent character
"classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc"
Measure Word
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
只 shows a child's body 只 without 口 with 口 mouth open in a cry. That gave the first meaning 'to cry, wail'. Read zhǐ, 'only' was borrowed for its sound. Read zhī, 'single' was borrowed too, and it grew into a measure word for animals and one of a pair.
Drawn as: child body; open mouth
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Example Sentences
我家有只小猫。
wǒjiā yǒu zhī xiǎomāo 。
My family has a small cat.
她买了只新的手表。
tā mǎi le zhī xīnde shǒubiǎo 。
She bought a new watch.
我们在公园看到了只飞鸟。
wǒmen zài gōngyuán kàndào le zhī fēiniǎo 。
We saw a flying bird in the park.
Same Characters, Different Readings
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