Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 9: 14/16

～たばかりJust did, Something just happened

ばっかり, ばっか, ばかし, and ばっかし are all fairly common casual variations of ばかり

Structure

Verb［た］+ ばかり

Details

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    Standard

  • Rare Kanji

    許り

About たばかり

As an adverbial particle, ばかり usually has one of three basic meanings.

Degree: 程度(ていど) - Highlights the 'rough' amount/degree of something (similar to くらい).

Limit: 限定(げんてい) - Highlights the 'limit' of something (similar to だけ).

Completion: 完了(かんりょう) - Highlights the 'end', or 'completion' of something.

In this lesson, we will focus primarily on the completion meaning. When connecting ばかり to the past form of a verb (using た), it will imply that a specific action has 'just finished', 'just stopped', or 'just been completed'.

Fun Fact

Despite having three different meanings, ばかり can be thought of as always highlighting how close one thing is to another.

Degree: 程度(ていど) - Highlights (A)'s degree of closeness (to a stated amount).

Limit: 限定(げんてい) - Highlights (A)'s degree of closeness (to a description).

Completion: 完了(かんりょう) - Highlights (A)'s degree of closeness (to a point in time).

Examples

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    今(いま)、家(いえ)を出(で)た許(ばか)りです。

    I just left home.

    電車(でんしゃ)に乗(の)った許(ばか)りの時(とき)に携帯(けいたい)を落(お)とした。

    Just when I got on the train, I dropped my phone.

    ユミに彼氏(かれし)が出来(でき)たと聞(き)いた許(ばか)り。

    I just heard that Yumi got a boyfriend.

    その漢字(かんじ)を習(なら)った許(ばか)りなのに、もう忘(わす)れた。

    Even though I just learned that kanji, I already forgot it.

    今(いま)の赤(あか)ちゃんは生(う)まれた許(ばか)りでしょう。

    The baby we just saw was just born, right?

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