Structure
Noun + だけしか + ない
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Standard
使用域
一般
About だけしか
- 彼は野菜だけしか食べられません。He can only eat vegetables.
- 土曜日だけしか忙しくないから、出来たら土曜日じゃないほうがいい。I am not busy except for Saturdays, so if possible it would be better if it wasn't a Saturday.
- この中ではタケシだけしか下手じゃない。他はみんな結構うまい。In this group, Takeshi is the only one that isn't good. Everyone else is considerably skilled.
- 何でこのコップだけしか500円ではないの?Why is this cup the only one that is 500yen?
- 私は日本語だけしか話せないです。I can only speak Japanese.
だけ - Removes one thing (from within a group), and presents it as the 'only' thing that fits a certain criteria.
しか - Highlights something that exists by itself as not having any alternatives.
Due to this, each meaning compounds together, with だけ saying 'just this', while しか adds 'and only this!'. Reversing the order and putting しか before だけ would not work, as the sequence of selection needs to be logical.
- 日曜日しかだけ休みが取れない。I can take only breaks on Sunday. (Unnatural Japanese)
- 日曜日だけしか休みが取れない。I can only take breaks on Sunday. (Natural Japanese)
Synonyms
Examples
この時間、医師は一人だけしかいません。
At this time of day, there is only one doctor present.
椅子はここにあるものだけしかありません。
Chairs are the only things here.
私には従兄弟が一人だけしかいません。
I only have one cousin.
僕は日本語だけしかできません。
I can only speak Japanese.
現金は今1000円だけしかありません。
I only have 1000 yen in cash.
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How to use しか & だけ & だけしか
Maggie Sensei
Structure 20
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だけしか – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (8 in total)
BambooCake
About 1 year ago
I was just about to create an issue about that! I agree, I’m thoroughly confused by the examples. To me, the example sentences you listed are polar opposites of the other ones on that page.
Not only that, but deepl.com and Google translate seem to be confused about the meaning, as well (and they work usually quite well, even for more complex phrases, especially deepl.com). Both translate “...
ResFort
About 10 months ago
I immediately came here to see if someone had asked about this, and your reply took the words out of my mouth, as I had also used other translators out there to double check and that got me utterly confused.
It’s a shame there has been no answer to this riddle so far…If 「土曜日だけしか忙しくない」 means “only Saturdays aren’t busy”, how would you say “only Saturdays are busy” with the しか~ない structure?
meagstudies
About 7 months ago
I came to this thread wondering the same thing as everyone else in this thread re: negative vs positive interpretations. I would have thought the sentences would be “only Takeshi is good at” or “only Saturdays are busy” or “the only one that is 500yen.”
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