Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
Wild Nihongo!
だけではなく〜も

だけではなく〜も

だけではなく〜も Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Phrase

Essential Meaning: Not only X, but also Y

Construction: 

  • (Verb / い-Adjective) informal + だけで(は)なく
    • E.g. 話はなすだけではなく [X not only speaks, but also…]
    • E.g. 話はなしただけではなく [X not only spoke, but also…]
  • な-Adjective stem + [な / だった] + だけで(は)なく
    • E.g. 静しずかなだけではなく [X is not only quiet, but also…]
    • E.g. 静しずかだっただけではなく [X was not only quiet, but also…]
  • Noun + [X / だった] + だけで(は)なく
    • E.g. 先生せんせいだけではなく [X is not only a teacher, but also…]
    • E.g. 先生せんせいだっただけではなく [X was not only a teacher, but also…]

Notes:

  • XだけではなくYも means “Not only X, but also Y“. X and Y are typically the same part of speech (i.e. both are nouns, both are verbs, or both are adjectives) but this is just a tendency and not a rule. ばかり can typically replace だけ in this structure, but だけ generally comes across as a more rigid limitation.
    • E.g. With verbs:
      • E.g. あの人ひとは小説しょうせつを読よむだけではなく書かきます。 [That person not only reads novels, but he also writes them.]
    • E.g. With adjectives:
      • E.g. このアパートは高たかいだけでなくたいへん狭せまいです。[This apartment is not only expensive, but it’s also very small.]
    • E.g. With nouns:
      • E.g. 日本人にほんじんだけではなくアメリカ人じんもよく働はたらきます。[Not only Japanese but also Americans work very hard.]
      • In the structure Noun1 だけでなく Noun2 も, Noun 1 and Noun 2 should share the same particle for the sake of grammatical parallelism. However, Noun 1’s particle may optionally drop.
        • E.g. 手紙てがみが友達ともだち(から)だけではなく先生せんせいからも来きました。[The letters came not only from friends but also from teachers.]
  • The は in だけで(は)なく may be optionally dropped.
    • E.g. ジョンだけでなくメアリーも来きた。[Not only John came, but also Mary.]
  • も in だけではなく ~ (も) is also optional. Sentences with も are more emphatic (i.e. not only X, but ALSO Y).
    • E.g. あの人ひとは頭あたまがいいだけではなくよく勉強べんきょうします。 [That person is not only smart, but also studies hard.]

Example Sentences:

あの人ひとはよく勉強べんきょうするだけではなくよく遊あそぶ。[That person not only studies a lot, but also plays a lot.]

あの人ひとは頭あたまがいいだけではなくよく勉強べんきょうします。 [That person is not only smart, but also studies hard.]

このうちはきれいなだけではなくとても安やすいです。[The house is not only beautiful but it is also inexpensive.]

ジョンだけでなくメアリーも来きた。[Not only John came, but also Mary.]

WILD Examples:

Listen to this line from 1:50: フキは茎くきだけでなく葉はっぱもとても美味おいしくて [As for fuki, not only the stalk but also the leaves are delicious.] Fuki is a type of Japanese veggie that resembles celery.

***YouTube videos may be region-locked depending on your country of origin. If you experience issues, please try using a VPN set to a United States IP address.***