Structure
Verb + だけ
[い]Adjective + だけ
[な]Adjective + な + だけ
Noun + だけ
Details
Part of Speech
Particle
Word Type
Adverbial Particle
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Standard
About だけ
だけ is used in Japanese in a similar way to 'only' or 'just' in English. The basic meaning of this word is that 'while there are/were several possibilities, only (A) is true/was chosen'. だけ is used by attaching it to the base (dictionary) form of any word, except for な-Adjectives, which require な when being used adjectivally.
Due to な-Adjectives being able to be used as either a noun or an adjective, the meaning of a sentence will be different depending on whether だけ is used with the noun form, or the adjective form.
Basically this difference just highlights whether something is being discussed in a measurable way (an adjective), or an immeasurable way (a noun).
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related
Examples
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一人だけです。
Only one person.
それだけです。
Only that.
サッカーだけが好き。
I only like soccer.
私だけ行きます。
Only I am going.
その映画は長いだけ。
That movie is just long.
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The Particle だけ
Imabi
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[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 93
Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai
Page 91
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 244
みんなの日本語 I
Page 74 [CH 11]
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だけ – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (19 in total)
Kasasagi
You may already have an answer for this, but my understanding is as follows:
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彼女は綺麗なだけだ。
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彼女は綺麗だけだ。
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is grammatically correct. 2) is grammatically incorrect.
I suspect that in a negative sentence, omitting the “な” is probably grammatically incorrect, but has become common usage, and therefore most Japanese people wouldn’t think of it as incorrect.
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Kasasagi
I’m kinda late to the party, but interpreting 彼女は綺麗な だけ だ。as “she is only beautiful” would help avoid that “intensifying” nuance in English.
Kasasagi
I was wondering if anyone could check that my understanding of だけ is correct in the Japanese passage below. Although だけ is often interpreted as “only”, “just”, etc. The following usage appears to be better interpreted as “sufficient for” (assuming my understanding is correct).
高齢者の場合は年金や貯蓄を切り崩して生活している人が大多数なので、消費は伸びず社会資本は不足しがちになる。そのため、国の経済を活発化させるだけの原動力とはなりえない。
Is my understanding correct?
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