← ChinesePath Chinese Dictionary

只有…才…

zhǐyǒu … cái …

1. correlative conjunction only if … (necessary condition — without it the result cannot occur)

   只有真正理解语法，才能灵活运用语言。

   Zhǐyǒu zhēnzhèng lǐjiě yǔfǎ, cái néng línghuó yùnyòng yǔyán.

   Only by truly understanding grammar can you use the language flexibly.

The full ChinesePath dictionary entry for 只有…才… includes audio for every reading and example sentence, more example sentences, collocations, synonyms and links to the course units where it is taught.