只好 (zhǐ hǎo) — to have to; to have no choice but to; to be forced to
Definition
只好 is an adverb meaning 'have no choice but to,' usually because of an unwelcome circumstance (rain, sold-out tickets). Weaker and more situational than 必须 ('must'); similar to 不得不 but emphasizes a single practical option.
adverb
to have toto have no choice but toto be forced to
Examples
- ，只好。Jīn tiān xià yǔ le, wǒ men zhǐ hǎo dāi zài jiā lǐ.It's raining today, so we have to stay at home.
- ，只好。Tā chí dào le, zhǐ hǎo xiàng lǎo shī dào qiàn.He was late, so he had to apologize to the teacher.
- ，只好，只好。Huǒ chē piào mài wán le, wǒ zhǐ hǎo zuò fēi jī yòu tài guì, wǒ men zhǐ hǎo gǎi tiān zài qù.The train tickets are sold out, and flying is too expensive, so we have to go another day.
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.
The sense of 只 meaning only combined with 好 meaning good gives this as the only good or possible course, so one has to do it.
Grammar
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