HSK 7–9 grammar · particle
而已
而已 — that's all, no more than that
Pattern
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( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
而已 closes a sentence to play its content down: "…, that's all". It usually answers an overestimate, and pairs with 不过, 只是 or 无非 earlier in the sentence. 罢了 is its spoken equivalent.
Examples
我只是开个玩笑而已。
Wǒ zhǐshì kāi ge wánxiào éryǐ.
I was only joking, that's all.
这不过是个开始而已。
Zhè búguò shì ge kāishǐ éryǐ.
This is no more than a beginning.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 而已 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.