Skip to content
Chinese Copilot

仅jǐnbarely; only; merely

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

仅 (jǐn) means "only," "merely," or "barely." As an adverb it says that an amount or scope is small, as in 仅有一天 (there is only one day). It is a more written word than 只 and often comes right before a verb or a number.

What does 仅 mean?

  1. 1.

    barely; only; merelyadverb

What does the character 仅 mean?

  • 仅barely; only; merely

How do you use 仅?

仅 often sounds more written than 只 and can come before 有 or a number.

What are some examples of 仅 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    这本书仅卖二十块。

    Zhè běn shū jǐn mài èrshí kuài.

    This book sells for only twenty yuan.

  2. HSK 1

    我们仅有一天的时间。

    Wǒmen jǐn yǒu yì tiān de shíjiān.

    We have only one day.

  3. HSK 1

    这件事仅他知道。

    Zhè jiàn shì jǐn tā zhīdào.

    Only he knows about this matter.

How is 仅 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    这次活动有多少人报名？

    Zhè cì huódòng yǒu duōshao rén bàomíng?

    How many people are signing up for this event?

  2. Speaker B:

    仅有五位。

    Jǐn yǒu wǔ wèi.

    Only five.

  3. Speaker A:

    怎么这么少？

    Zěnme zhème shǎo?

    Why so few?

  4. Speaker B:

    可能是因为时间太早了。

    Kěnéng shì yīnwèi shíjiān tài zǎo le.

    Maybe because the time is too early.

What should you learn next?

Related words

Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.

English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.