Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 6: 13/24

だけしか～ない To emphasize '~only', Nothing but

Can express pity

Structure

Noun + だけしか + ない

Details

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About だけしか

だけしか is a combination of two adverbial particles, だけ 'only', and しか 'nothing but'. This structure primarily follows nouns, before part (B) of the sentence will have a corresponding ない based word.

Despite all of these possibilities, it should be noted that だけしか～ない is an expression that appears with negative verbs, far more than any of the other combinations.

Fun Fact

だけしか may appear as though it is saying 'only' twice, but each particle has its own specific nuance. These nuances are as follows:

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(にちようび)しかだけ休(やす)みが取(と)れない。
    I can take only breaks on Sunday. (Unnatural Japanese)
  • 日曜日(にちようび)だけしか休(やす)みが取(と)れない。
    I can only take breaks on Sunday. (Natural Japanese)

Examples

--:--

    この時間(じかん)、医師(いし)は一人(ひとり)だけしかいません。

    At this time of day, there is only one doctor present.

    椅子(いす)はここにあるものだけしかありません。

    Chairs are the only things here.

    私(わたし)には従兄弟(いとこ)が一人(ひとり)だけしかいません。

    I only have one cousin.

    僕(ぼく)は日本語(にほんご)だけしかできません。

    I can only speak Japanese.

    現金(げんきん)は今(いま)1000円(えん)だけしかありません。

    I only have 1000 yen in cash.

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      だけしか – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (10 in total)

      • meagstudies

        meagstudies

        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.”

      • paprikayes

        paprikayes

        I also came to this discussion thread hoping to find some insight into how the example sentences seem to showcase contradictory meanings. Did anyone here ever come to a conclusion about how to pick up on that nuance? Is it just one of those things that requires greater context to gauge the meaning?

      • nekoyama

        nekoyama

        The example sentence that was being discussed above has been changed to use 下手 instead of 上手, so the conclusion appears to be that that particular contradiction was a mistake in the example sentence.

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