Level 4 · Upper Intermediate
The only option left: 只好
A（went wrong），Subj. + 只好 + Verb Phrase
只好 (zhǐhǎo) means every better option is gone, so you settle for the last one: 下雨了，我们只好在家 "it started raining, so we had no choice but to stay home". Something goes wrong in the first half; 只好 introduces the resigned plan B in the second.
只能 is its cooler cousin: it just states the only possibility (我只能等 "all I can do is wait"), while 只好 always carries the sigh — a plan fell through and you're settling. That's also why 只好 describes a decision in a real situation, not a general limit.
Examples
外面下雨了，我们只好在家看书。
外面下雨了，我們只好在家看書。
wài miàn xià yǔ le wǒ men zhǐ hǎo zài jiā kàn shū
It's raining outside, so we just have to stay home and read.
最后一班车已经走了，他只好走路回家。
最後一班車已經走了，他只好走路回家。
zuì hòu yī bān chē yǐ jīng zǒu le tā zhǐ hǎo zǒu lù huí jiā
The last bus had already left, so he had to walk home.
我忘了带钱，只好先回家去拿。
我忘了帶錢，只好先回家去拿。
wǒ wàng le dài qián zhǐ hǎo xiān huí jiā qù ná
I forgot to bring money, so I had to go home first to get it.
商店关门了，我们只好明天再来。
商店關門了，我們只好明天再來。
shāng diàn guān mén le wǒ men zhǐ hǎo míng tiān zài lái
The shop was closed, so we'll just have to come back tomorrow.
Common mistakes
✗ 我只好说一点儿中文。
✓ 我只能说一点儿中文。
A limit on ability is 只能 — 只好 needs a plan that fell through first.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: Morning Subway · Chapter 3: The Havoc in Heaven — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
