Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 9: 15/17

～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

--:--

    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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      たばかり – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

      • FredKore

        FredKore

        I just got the same sentence and had the same reaction.

        電車に乗ったばかりで携帯を落とした。
        Just when I got on the train, I dropped my phone.

        It might be better to have a translation like this:
        I just got on the train, and I dropped my phone.
        (I think the で makes it tricky to translate.)

      • CroAniki

        CroAniki

        Just started this grammar point, thanks for answering a question I had in my head so succinctly!
        I think it would be a great addition to the grammar point page as a “Caution” segment or something like that.

      • nkali

        nkali

        Necroposting here so it’ll be attached to the grammar point discussion. It seems Bunpro does not accept casual versions (ばっかり、ばかし、ばっかし) even in non-keigo questions? I was a bit surprised by that, and need to keep myself in check and retype the answer every time I type ばっかり

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