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何止 (hé zhǐ) — far more than; not just; not only (rhetorical or negative context)

Definition

何止 is a rhetorical 'far more than' used in one short clause — e.g. 何止一百万 ('far more than a million'). It is stronger and more emphatic than 不止, and unlike 不但/不仅/不光 it is not a conjunction; it sits inside a single clause rather than linking two.

verb
far more thannot justnot only (rhetorical or negative context)

Examples

  • 何止？
    Tā zhuàn de qián hé zhǐ yì bǎi wàn?
    The money he earns is far more than a million.
  • 何止。
    Xǐ huan zhè bù diàn yǐng de rén hé zhǐ wǒ men jǐ gè.
    There are far more people who like this movie than just a few of us.
  • 何止。
    Tā zuò de zhǔn bèi gōng zuò hé zhǐ zhè xiē.
    The preparation work she did goes far beyond this.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

何héhow
止zhǐonly

何 “how” and 止 “only” combine to mean not just that but far more.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form of 何 drew a person carrying something on their shoulder. If the carried thing was a 戈, the 人 and 戈 parts together showed that picture.

Open 何 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

止 was drawn as a footprint pointing up, with three toes and a sole, originally showing a foot.

Open 止 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Comparison & Degree

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.