particle N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜だけしか — only ~
〜だけしか ・ だけしか
Builds on 〜だけ
Meaning
- only ~ / just ~ — stacks だけ onto しか for extra emphasis; always with a negative predicate
Key sentence
財布には千円だけしかない。
I have only a thousand yen in my wallet.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (+ negative predicate) | N + だけしか + 〜ない | 一人だけしか来なかった |
Examples
今はこれだけしか持っていません。
This is all I have on me right now.
あと一回だけしかチャンスがない。
There's only one chance left.
When you can't use it
- Like しか, it forces a negative predicate — 〜だけしかある is ungrammatical; it must be 〜だけしかない. The だけ adds emphasis but cannot rescue a positive verb.
Easily confused with
しか だけしか means the same as plain しか ('only ~, and that's not much'), just more emphatic. しか alone is the everyday form; だけしか stresses the scarcity more strongly. 〜だけ だけ is neutral and takes a positive verb (千円だけある = 'exactly 1,000 yen'). だけしか adds the しか 'that's all, not enough' nuance and demands a negative (千円だけしかない).
See 〜だけしか in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜だけしか the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in Jengo