(zhǐ hǎo) - have no choice but to, be forced to in Mandarin
zhǐhǎoTraditional: 只好
Translation
have no choice but to, be forced to
Word origin
A compound of 只 (zhǐ, only) and 好 (hǎo, good, all right), literally the only thing that would do.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 只 (zhǐ, only) + 好 (hǎo, all right)
Stroke order
只
好
Examples
，。
It started raining hard, so we had no choice but to wait at home.
，。
The car broke down, so he had to walk to work.
，。
There was no other way and I had to change the time.
，。
The shop was shut, so we had to come back the next day.
，。
He could not understand Chinese so I had to speak English to him.
只好 (zhǐ hǎo) marks a fallback. Something has closed off the option you wanted, so you take the one that is left. It almost always follows a clause giving the reason, and English usually renders it as had to or had no choice but to.
Its neighbours are worth keeping apart. 必须 is an obligation imposed from outside (you must). 只能 states the only possibility. 只好 adds resignation on top: this is not what I wanted, but here we are.
The trap for English speakers is placement. 只好 is an adverb, so it sits after the subject and before the verb: 我只好走路, never 只好我走路. It also does not take 了, because it describes the choice rather than the completed action.
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只好: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "只好" (have no choice but to, be forced to): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 57.