ancak - only, but

This is a Turkish word that can make you confused as it has more than one meaning.
It has 5 common different uses, let's see all of them with the help of sample sentences.

1) Only

Bu problemi ancak sen çözebilirsin.
Only you can solve this problem.

Ancak (eğer) sen de gidersen gelirim.
I come if only you also go.

Bu parfümü ancak şehirde bulabilirsin.
You can find this perfume only in the city.

Ancak bu şartlarda sizinle çalışabilirim.
I can work with you only under these circumstances.

You can replace it with "sadece".

2) Earliest - At the earliest possible time

Ancak üç saat sonra orada olabilirim.
I can be there in three hours earliest.

Bu inşaat ancak iki yılda biter.
This construction finishes in two years earliest.

You can replace it with "en erken".

3) However, but

Türkçe'yi seviyorum ama şu sıralar öğrenmek için çok vaktim yok.
I like Turkish but at the moment I do not much time to learn it.

Elinden geleni yaptı ancak sonucu değiştiremedi.
He did his best but could not have changed the result.

Ancak ben bu şartlarda burada çalışamam.
But under these circumstances I can not work here.

You can replace it with "ama".

4) Just

Ancak gelebildik, trafik çok yoğundu.
We have just come, there was traffic.

Ödevimi ancak bitirebildim. Çok zordu, iki saat sürdü.
I could have finished my homework just now. It was so hard, took two hours.

It means that, the speaker did the best possible but there were some circumstances that made it harder than normal and it took much time out of the speaker's control.

5) ancak bu kadar: as the best, as a phrase, it tells about the most possible amount and these sentences usually start with "bir insan" as you see in the examples.

Bir insan ancak bu kadar cimri olabilir.
One can not be more frugal.

Bir insan ancak bu kadar iyi kalpli olabilir.
One can not be more goodhearted.

Ancak bu kadar taşıyabildim.
I could have carried only this much.
Although we use the word only, it means that it was the best that the speaker could have done.