About
The character 衹 is a phono-semantic compound. Its semantic component, the clothing radical 衤 on the left, indicates a connection to garments, while the phonetic component 氐 on the right suggests its historical pronunciation. Originally, it referred to a type of clothing or described a respectful appearance linked to formal attire. Over time, due to phonetic borrowing and visual similarity between the radicals 衤 and 礻, 衹 became conflated with 祇. This led to its widespread adoption as an alternative form for the adverb meaning "only" or "merely". In modern usage, its original association with clothing has been entirely supplanted by this grammatical function as a restrictive adverb.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他衹说中文。
我衹需要五分钟。
她衹是笑了笑。
这本书衹有十页。
他衹会唱歌，不会跳舞。
我衹在周末看电视。
如果你衹考虑自己，别人不会喜欢你。
尽管他衹是一个初学者，但他的进步很快。