Ne ... que ('only')
Only |
|
ne ... que |
'it is only ... that' |
只有 ... 才 zhǐ yǒu ... cái |
|
For the first part of this double-barrelled expression, most translators stick to plain vanilla 只有 zhǐ yǒu. However, a few use alternative expressions:
VARIATIONS ON 只有 ... 才 zhǐ yǒu ... cái
只有
zhǐ yǒu
'only (if)'才
cái
'only then'Standard version. 36--
--
'...'才
cái
'only then'才 cái on its own is sufficient to convey the meaning. 2唯有
wéi yǒu
'solely (if)'才
cái
'only then'More formal or literary. 3唯
wéi
'solely'才
cái
'only then'More formal or literary. 1只能
zhǐ néng
'only can'才
cái
'only then'A mixed structure. See below. 1只要
zhǐ yào
'only need'才
cái
'only then'Strictly speaking incorrect. Expresses a sufficient condition ('all you need to do is...'), not a necessary condition ('you must ...'). However, 才 cái makes the sense clear. 2只要
zhǐ yào
'only need'就
jiù
'then'Incorrect. Expresses a sufficient condition ('all you need to do is...'), not a necessary condition ('you must ...'). 1Total 46A couple of these renditions are inaccurate or nonstandard.
1) The translator who uses 就 jiù instead of 才 cái changes the meaning to 'You only need to look with the heart in order to see clearly'. This is definitely off the track!
2) More puzzling is the translation that uses 只能 zhǐ néng:
只能用心才看得准确。
Zhǐ néng yòng xīn cái kàn de zhǔnquè.
'Can only with the heart (only) see accurately '.This actually appears to be a blend of two constructions, 只有 zhǐ yǒu 'only (if)' and 只能 zhǐ néng 'can only', as shown in the following table:
BLEND OF TWO STRUCTURES
a b 只有用心才看得准确。
Zhǐ yǒu yòng xīn cái néng kàn de zhǔnquè.
'Can only see clearly with the heart'只能用心看。
Zhǐ néng yòng xīn kàn.
'Can only look with the heart' ☟a + b 只能用心才看得准确。
Zhǐ néng yòng xīn cái kàn de zhǔnquè.This isn't exactly a standard collocation in terms of formal grammar, but's probably not as uncommon as the grammar books might have you believe.