唯独

• Pinyin: wéi dú
• Hanzi breakdown: 唯 = only, solely (口 mouth + 隹 short-tailed bird); 独 = 犭(dog radical) + 蜀 (phonetic) — alone, solitary

Meaning

Only; exclusively; the sole exception. Highlights a single person or thing that stands apart from all others, always with a contrastive implication.

唯独 is more emphatic than 只 or 唯有. It always singles out one exception from a group where the opposite is true of all others: 大家都来了，唯独他没来 (everyone came; he alone did not). The contrast can be positive (唯独你理解我 = you alone understand me) or negative. Slightly formal but used across registers. Never describes a general condition — there must be an implicit or explicit contrast.

Examples

1. 所有部门都按时提交了年度报告，唯独市场部迟迟没有动静。 Every department submitted its annual report on time — only the marketing department had still not made a move.
2. 她走遍了欧洲许多城市，唯独对布拉格念念不忘，说那里有一种别处没有的气质。 She has travelled to many cities in Europe, but Prague alone is the one she can never stop thinking about, saying it has a quality that no other place has.
3. 家里几个孩子对音乐都兴趣平平，唯独小女儿从小便展现出了惊人的音乐天赋。 The other children in the family showed little interest in music — only the youngest daughter displayed astonishing musical talent from an early age.

Usage Guide

Context: contrast, everyday, formal writing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 所有人都对这个方案表示支持，唯独他提出了不同的看法，让大家陷入了沉思。(Everyone expressed support for the plan — he alone raised a different view, plunging everyone into thought.)
• 这么多年过去了，唯独那次旅行的记忆始终清晰如昨。(So many years have passed, yet the memory of that one trip alone remains as vivid as yesterday.)

Don't Say

• 将唯独用于没有隐含对比的陈述 — 唯独 requires an implicit or explicit contrast (everyone else X, but this one Y); without that contrast, use 只有 or 仅仅

Origin & History

Compound of 唯 (only, solely — classical particle) + 独 (alone, solitary — 犭 dog radical + 蜀 phonetic). Together they reinforce each other: 'solely and alone' — the one and only exception.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal