(ér yǐ) - that's all, nothing more in Mandarin
éryǐTraditional: 而已
Translation
that's all, nothing more
Word origin
A classical particle phrase: 而 (er) 'and/but' plus 已 (yi) 'to stop, already'. The pairing closes a sentence with the sense 'and that is all'.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 而 (er, conjunction) + 已 (yi, 'to cease, already')
Stroke order
而
已
Examples
。
I was just saying it casually, that's all.
。
This is just a small problem, nothing more.
。
He is just a child, that's all.
。
I was only joking, that's all.
。
He is just a child, nothing more.
而已 (ér yǐ) is a sentence-final particle meaning that's all or nothing more. It downgrades or minimises what has just been said, making a statement seem less significant. It frequently pairs with 只 (zhǐ, only) or 不过 (bù guò, merely): 只是...而已 (it's just... that's all). The phrase has a slightly literary flavour compared to the colloquial 罢了 (bà le), which carries the same meaning.
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