只好 zhǐhǎo have to
have to; be forced to
How to remember 只好: 只 only + 好 good = have to.
Characters
How it is used
- Have no choice but to / be forced to - 没有公交车，只好走路 (méiyǒu gōngjiāochē, zhǐhǎo zǒulù) no bus, so I had to walk.
- Signals a reluctant fallback because better options are gone.
- Near-synonym 不得不 (bùdébù) 'cannot but' is stronger/more formal; 只好 is the everyday 'guess I'll have to...'.
Example sentences
- 没有车，他只好走路。 Méiyǒu chē, tā zhǐhǎo zǒulù.Without a car, he is forced to walk.
- 昨天太冷了，我只好待在家里。 Zuótiān tàilěng le, wǒ zhǐhǎo dàizàijiālǐ.It was so cold yesterday I stayed home.
- 我们的钱不够，所以我只好把订单取消了。 Wǒmen de qián búgòu, suǒyǐ wǒ zhǐhǎo bǎ dìngdān qǔxiāo le.I had to cancel the order because we didn't have enough money.