particle N5 essential casualpolitewritten
〜だけ — only / just ~
〜だけ ・ だけ
Meaning
- only / just / nothing but ~ — sets an exact limit, neutral in tone
Key sentence
水だけください。
Just water, please.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun / plain verb / i-adjective | N + だけ; V(plain) + だけ | 一人だけ / 見るだけ |
| na-adjective | na-adj + な + だけ | 静かなだけ |
Examples
ちょっと見るだけです。
I'm just looking.
三人だけ来た。
Only three people came.
ひらがなだけで書いてください。
Please write using only hiragana.
When you can't use it
- だけ takes whatever predicate fits, positive or negative (千円だけある = 'there's just 1,000 yen'). If you want the 'and that's not enough' nuance, you need しか + a negative instead — だけ never carries that feeling on its own.
Easily confused with
しか だけ is a plain limit with a positive verb (千円だけある = 'there's exactly 1,000 yen'). しか always takes a negative and adds a 'that's all, less than I'd like' nuance (千円しかない = 'I've only got 1,000 yen'). 〜ばかり だけ states a precise limit; ばかり means 'nothing but ~' with a sense of excess or one-sidedness (テレビばかり見ている = 'does nothing but watch TV').
See 〜だけ in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜だけ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.