嘦 (jiào) - A dialectal character meaning 'only if' or 'as

嘦Tone 4

jiào ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

健傑

嘦 · jiào

A dialectal character meaning 'only if' or 'as long as', formed by combining 只 (zhǐ, only) and 要 (yào, want/need) into a single character.

A dialectal character meaning 'only if' or 'as

Usage highlights

Only ifAs long asYou only need toOnly if possibleAs long as necessaryOnly if agreed

Synonyms

  • 只要— only if; as long as (standard form)
  • 仅要— only need

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • You can succeed as long as you work hard (嘦你努力).
  • Only if you come will I go (嘦你来我就去).
  • As long as it doesn't rain, we'll proceed (嘦不下雨我们就进行).
  • I'll agree only if you promise (嘦你答应我就同意).

Collocations

  • Only if(嘦)
  • As long as(嘦)
  • You only need to(嘦你)
  • Only if possible(嘦可能)
  • As long as necessary(嘦必要)
  • Only if agreed(嘦同意)

Idioms

  • As long as the heart is willing, everything will follow(嘦心所愿，万事皆成)
  • Only if you persist can you succeed(嘦坚持，方能成功)
  • As long as there's a will, there's a way(嘦有志，事竟成)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • A rare example of a 'contracted character' (合文) created by combining two existing characters into one.
  • Primarily used in certain Chinese dialects and informal contexts rather than standard Mandarin.
  • Represents a form of character innovation that demonstrates the flexibility of Chinese writing systems.

FAQ