Only / nothing but (只不过)

Structure 只不过 + downplayed fact （+ 罢了/而已）

只不过 (zhǐbúguò) plays something down to "merely…", "nothing but…": it minimizes or corrects an overstatement. 我只不过随口一说 = "I just said it offhand, that's all". This is the "merely" sense, distinct from the "but" sense of 不过 already seen at HSK 4 (这很好，不过有点贵 = "it's nice, but a bit pricey"). It almost always closes with 罢了 or 而已, which reinforce the "and that's it".

Examples

我wǒ只zhǐ不bù过guò随suí口kǒu一yī说shuō，你nǐ别bié当dàng真zhēn。
I just said it offhand, don't take it seriously.
这zhè只zhǐ不bù过guò是shì个gè开kāi始shǐ罢bà了le。
This is only a beginning, nothing more.
他tā只zhǐ不bù过guò比bǐ你nǐ大dà两liǎng岁suì而ér已yǐ。
He's merely two years older than you, that's all.
我wǒ只zhǐ不bù过guò想xiǎng确què认rèn一yī下xià而ér已yǐ。
I just wanted to double-check, that's all.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.