只此一家，別無分店

Chinese

		only; merely; just only; merely; just; but	this; these	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	home; family; ‑ist home; family; ‑ist; ‑er; ‑ian; measure word for stores and schools		other; distinguish; contrary other; distinguish; contrary; difficult; awkward; leave; depart; separate; classify; another; do not; must not; to pin	not have	branch store
trad. (只此一家，別無分店)		只	此	一	家	，	別	無	分店
simp. (只此一家，别无分店)		只	此	一	家	，	别	无	分店

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhǐ cǐ yī jiā, bié wú fēndiàn

  (Zhuyin): ㄓˇ ㄘˇ ㄧ ㄐㄧㄚ , ㄅㄧㄝˊ ㄨˊ ㄈㄣ ㄉㄧㄢˋ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhǐ cǐ yī jiā, bié wú fēndiàn [Phonetic: zhícǐyìjiā,biéwúfēndiàn]
    • Zhuyin: ㄓˇ ㄘˇ ㄧ ㄐㄧㄚ , ㄅㄧㄝˊ ㄨˊ ㄈㄣ ㄉㄧㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhǐh cǐh yi jia, bié wú fendiàn
    • Wade–Giles: chih³ tzʻŭ³ i¹ chia¹, pieh² wu² fên¹-tien⁴
    • Yale: jř tsž yī jyā-, byé wú fēn-dyàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyy tsyy i jia, bye wu fendiann
    • Palladius: чжи цы и цзя, бе у фэньдянь (čži cy i czja, be u fɛnʹdjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡sʰz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ pi̯ɛ³⁵ u³⁵ fən⁵⁵ ti̯ɛn⁵¹/

Idiom

只此一家，別無分店

1. the one and only store, no branch offices (you can buy something only here)
2. (figuratively) to have a monopoly

   • 革命的政治家們，懂得革命的政治科學或政治藝術的政治專門家們，他們只是千千萬萬的群眾政治家的領袖，他們的任務在於把群眾政治家的意見集中起來，加以提煉，再使之回到群眾中去，為群眾所接受，所實踐，而不是閉門造車，自作聰明，只此一家，別無分店的那種貴族式的所謂「政治家」，——這是無產階級政治家同腐朽了的資產階級政治家的原則區別。 [MSC, trad.]
     革命的政治家们，懂得革命的政治科学或政治艺术的政治专门家们，他们只是千千万万的群众政治家的领袖，他们的任务在于把群众政治家的意见集中起来，加以提炼，再使之回到群众中去，为群众所接受，所实践，而不是闭门造车，自作聪明，只此一家，别无分店的那种贵族式的所谓「政治家」，——这是无产阶级政治家同腐朽了的资产阶级政治家的原则区别。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1942, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《在延安文藝座談會上的講話》 (Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Gémìng de zhèngzhìjiāmen, dǒngde gémìng de zhèngzhì kēxué huò zhèngzhì yìshù de zhèngzhì zhuānménjiāmen, tāmen zhǐshì qiānqiānwànwàn de qúnzhòng zhèngzhìjiā de lǐngxiù, tāmen de rènwù zàiyú bǎ qúnzhòng zhèngzhìjiā de yìjiàn jízhōng qilai, jiāyǐ tíliàn, zài shǐ zhī huí dào qúnzhòng zhōng qù, wéi qúnzhòng suǒ jiēshòu, suǒ shíjiàn, ér bùshì bìménzàochē, zìzuòcōngmíng, zhǐ cǐ yī jiā, bié wú fēndiàn de nà zhǒng guìzúshì de suǒwèi “zhèngzhìjiā”, — zhè shì wúchǎn jiējí zhèngzhìjiā tóng fǔxiǔ le de zīchǎn jiējí zhèngzhìjiā de yuánzé qūbié. [Pinyin]

     Revolutionary statespeople, the political specialists who know the science or art of revolutionary politics, are simply the leaders of millions upon millions of statespeople – the masses. Their task is to collect the opinions of these mass statespeople, sift and refine them, and return them to the masses, who then take them and put them into practice. They are therefore not the kind of aristocratic “statespeople” who work behind closed doors and fancy they have a monopoly of wisdom.

3. (figuratively) unique; unparalleled; unmatched

Synonyms

• 獨此一家，別無分店／独此一家，别无分店 (dú cǐ yī jiā, bié wú fēndiàn)