光是 (guāng shì) — (adverbial phrase) just, only, merely, alone (used to single out one aspect, often followed by 就 in the main clause)

Definition

光是 (guāng shì) highlights a single factor as surprisingly large on its own, often followed by 就 to contrast with the rest. It emphasizes 'already/already' scale, not just 'only'.

idiom
(adverbial phrase) justonlymerelyalone (used to single out one aspect, often followed by 就 in the main clause)

Examples

  • 光是，。
    guāng shì Xué xí hàn yǔ, jiù yào huā hěn duō shí jiān.
    Just studying Chinese alone already takes a lot of time.
  • 光是，。
    guāng shì Zhè ge yuè, wǒ men jiù yǐ jīng wán chéng le sān gè xiàng mù.
    Just in this month alone, we have already completed three projects.
  • 光是。
    Tā guāng shì kàn shū jiù kàn le wǔ gè xiǎo shí.
    He just by reading alone spent five hours.

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.

光guāngonly
是shìbe

光 singles out one aspect, and 是 connects it to what follows, giving just or only.

Characters in this word

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 是 →

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