Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 7: 1/13

だけ

Only, Just

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

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    助詞

  • 単語の種類

    副助詞

  • 使用域

    一般

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).

Examples

  • 一人(ひとり)だけです。

    Only one person.

  • それだけです。

    Only that.

  • サッカーだけが好(す)き。

    I only like soccer.

    This more naturally translates to 'Soccer is the only thing I like'.

  • 私(わたし)だけ行(い)きます。

    Only I am going.

  • その映画(えいが)は長(なが)いだけ。

    That movie is just long.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online

  • Offline

    • みんなの日本語 I

      Page 74 [CH 11]

    • [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

      Page 93

    • Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai

      Page 91

    • Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide

      Page 244

  • Track Resources!

    Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

だけ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (16 in total)

  • Pablunpro

    Pablunpro

    Hello,

    Whilst reading a short story, I came upon のみ as a literary version of だけ. Could this be added as a fun fact to this grammar point?

    Thank you very much for your consideration. よい週末を

  • cheesegyudonman

    cheesegyudonman

    Hello,

    What would be the difference between the two sentences:
    彼女は綺麗なだけ
    彼女は綺麗だけ

    Thank You

  • Pablunpro

    Pablunpro

    Hi!

    I take this chance to reiterate this request, i.e. to add のみ as a fun fact to this grammar point. In fact, のみ appears indirectly in this grammar point: のみならず.

    Thank you very much for your consideration.

    よい週末を

Got questions about だけ? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

Join the Discussion