たったのOnly, Just, No more than

Structure

たった + （の）+ Number

Details

About たった(の)

たった is a common adverb in Japanese that originates from an emphasized alteration of 唯(ただ) 'only', 'merely'. たった keeps the same meaning of ただ in that it just expresses that something is 'only (A)', 'just (A)', or 'no more than (A)'.

This nuance is usually used when the actual number of (A) is exceptionally low compared to the speaker's expectation of anticipation. たった will often appear at the beginning of sentences, and will either modify the whole sentence, or a specific number when followed by の and then that number.

As たった is an adverb that is usually used for emphasis, it often accompanies other similar grammar patterns like だけ, しか, etc.

Fun-fact

The common expression ただいま 'now', or 'I'm home' may occasionally be seen in the emphasized form たったいま. This is primarily when the meaning is 'now', or 'just now' (right at this present moment), rather than 'I'm home'.

Examples

--:--

「彼(かれ)はたった一人(ひとり)の兄弟(きょうだい)です。」

'He is my only sibling.'

友達(ともだち)１(いち)：「１０００(せん)円(えん)貸(か)してくれる？」
友達(ともだち)２(に)：「たった５００(ごひゃく)円(えん)しかないよ。」

Friend1: 'Can you lend me 1000 yen?'
Friend2: 'I only have 500 on me.'

そうまさん：「ケーキ、出来(でき)ました。」
えりなさん：「え、たった５(ご)分(ふん)で出来(でき)たの？！」

Souma: 'The cake is done.'
Erina: 'Wha?! You finished it just in 5 minutes?!'

自分(じぶん)の子供(こども)について、母親(ははおや)：「ケビンはずっと、たったひとりで家(いえ)にいた！！」

Mother, about her son: 'Kevin was at home all alone the whole time!'

市場(いちば)の商人(しょうにん)：「安(やす)いよ、安(やす)いよ、りっぱな高級(こうきゅう)時計(どけい)がたった千(せん)円(えん)。」

Merchant on the market: 'Cheap! Cheap! Amazing, high-quality watches only 1000 yen.'

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たった(の) – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

Pushindawood
only
just
no more than
Structure
- たった + (の) + Number
[Used to emphasize. Often with しか、だけ, etc.]

View on Bunpro
rikvg
I have a question about an example sentence for this point.

彼はたった一人の兄弟です。

To me this sounds like “he is an only child”.

The translation says “he has only one sibling”.

I would expect this to be written along the lines of:

彼にはたった一人の兄弟がいる。

What am I missing?
nekoyama
I don’t think one can be a single sibling.

The translation seems to interpret the sentence as “in the context of him, there is only one sibling”. I imagine “he is my only brother” would make sense too.
rikvg
I’ve given this some more thought but it still doesn’t make sense to use “です” here to me.
I’m either not understanding something quite fundamental about the use of です/だ, or this sentence isn’t grammatical.
Or 一人の兄弟 means “having one sibling” but then that’s the first time I’ve seen this kind of ellipsis.
I know Google translate is very much flawed, but this seems like quite a simple sentence, and there too, I get “がいます” in stead of です.

Can someone explain what I’m missing?
FredKore
Maybe you can think of it as:
彼は – As for me, As for my situation
たった一人の兄弟です – it is just a one-brother [situation]

Just like when you answer あなたの家族は？
You could answer: お父さん、お母さん、弟です。
In other words, how you define “your family”.
(You could say that the translation is not the best, but it’s using more natural English than “My ‘brothers’ is defined by just one brother”.)

My feeling is when you use いる you’re describing something more immediate, like “they are here right now in the other room” (not entirely sure though).
rikvg
Duh. Watashi wa ringo desu.
I’ve known this since day four of studying Japanese.
But I somehow forgot along the way.

Thanks for explaining so patiently you guys.
mrnoone
@rikvg @FredKore @nekoyama
Hey guys!

I changed the translation to “He is my only sibling(brother)”.
I feel its closer to the original intention.

Cheers