| Change log entry 92290 | |
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| Processed by: | richwarm (2025-10-29 03:59:49 UTC) |
| Comment: |
<< review queue entry 84392 - submitted by 'agedits' >> reduced this monstruous entry to a reasonable minimum --------------------- Editor: a) "only" is highly ambiguous. It has several adjectival and adverbial senses, not all of which apply to 只有, and it's unclear which of these you intend. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/only When juxtaposed with "only if" and "can only", the semantic range becomes opaque, because "only" doesn't overlap with either of those expressions. In fact, does 只有 mean "only" in *any* of its senses? Dictionaries give examples such as 最后留下来的只有他一人, but here "only" alone is inadequate. Our current gloss "there is only ..." (or "only have ...") more accurately represents the meaning, because 有 is a verb and 只有 functions as a predicate, not as an adverb or determiner. Glossing it simply as "only" ignores that verbal structure and misrepresents how 只有 actually works in the sentence. b) "can only" is also ambiguous. It can mean: 1. limited ability - "He can only do simple calculations", or 2. lack of alternatives - "Having lost his key, he can only call a locksmith." If you mean sense #2, it properly belongs with "must; have no choice but to", which is not where you placed it. As for sense #1, it doesn't occur with 只有, so if that was the intended meaning, the gloss is incorrect. Pierre Larousse once observed that "un dictionnaire sans exemples est un squelette." 只有 may be a case in point: the current definition could no doubt be refined, but compressing it as drastically as you propose, and eliminating all usage examples, risks making it difficult to represent the various senses clearly. |
| Diff: |
# - 只有 只有 [[zhi3you3]] /only have ...; there is only .../(used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3you3 tong1guo4 zhi4liao2 cai2 neng2 quan2yu4] "the only way to cure it is with therapy")/it is only (someone) who ... (as in 只有男性才有此需要[zhi3you3 nan2xing4 cai2 you3 ci3 xu1yao4] "only men would have such a requirement")/(used to express lack of alternatives) can only; have no choice but to (as in 只有屈服[zhi3you3 qu1fu2] "the only thing you can do is give in")/ # + 只有 只有 [[zhi3you3]] /only; only if (used with 才[cai2]); can only/must; have no choice but to/ |