Level 5 · Advanced
That's all: 而已
（只是 / 不过）… + 而已 · Traditional: （只是 / 不過）… + 而已
而已 (éryǐ) sits at the end of a sentence and shrinks it: 我开个玩笑而已 "I was only joking, that's all." It waves away weight or blame, usually teaming up with 只是 or 不过 earlier in the sentence.
It's slightly more written-flavored than the plain-spoken 罢了, but common in speech too. Position matters: 而已 always closes the sentence — it can't float around the middle.
Examples
别紧张，我只是问问而已。
別緊張，我只是問問而已。
bié jǐn zhāng wǒ zhǐ shì wèn wèn ér yǐ
Relax — I'm just asking, that's all.
这只是我的想法而已。
這只是我的想法而已。
zhè zhǐ shì wǒ de xiǎng fǎ ér yǐ
It's merely my opinion, nothing more.
他不是生气，只是累了而已。
他不是生氣，只是累了而已。
tā bù shì shēng qì zhǐ shì lèi le ér yǐ
He's not angry — he's just tired, is all.
我开个玩笑而已，你别当真。
我開個玩笑而已，你別當真。
wǒ kāi gè wán xiào ér yǐ nǐ bié dàng zhēn
I was only joking — don't take it seriously.
Common mistakes
✗ 我而已开个玩笑。
✓ 我开个玩笑而已。
而已 always comes at the very end of the sentence.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Talking Price (Part 4), The Duck inside the Literate Chinese app.
