Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat

だけ

だけ Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Particle

Essential Meaning: Only / Merely / Just

Construction: 

  • Noun + だけ
    • E.g. クリスだけ [Only Chris]
  • Noun + だけ + (が / は / を)
    • E.g. クリスだけが / クリスだけを / クリスだけは [Only Chris]
  • Noun + Particle (other than が / は / を) + だけ
    • E.g. クリスにだけ [To only Chris]
    • E.g. クリスからだけ [From only Chris]
  • Noun + だけ + Particle (other than が / は / を)
    • E.g. クリスだけに [Only to Chris]
    • E.g. クリスだけから [Only from Chris]
  • (Verb / い-Adjective) informal + だけ + (だ / です)
    • E.g. 話はなすだけだ / 話はなしただけです [X only speaks / X only spoke]
    • E.g. 高たかいだけだ / 高たかかっただけです [X is only expensive / X was only expensive]
  • な-Adjective stem + (な / だった) + だけ + (だ / です)
    • E.g. 静しずかなだけだ / 静しずかだっただけです [X is only quiet / X was only quiet]
  • Potential form verb + だけ
    • E.g. できるだけ [As much as one can]

Notes:

  • だけ is basically equivalent to the English word “Only“. However, the precise connotation depends on whether だけ modifies a noun, adjective, or verb.
  • When だけ modifies a noun, the associated particle is important:
    • は, が, and を can optionally be dropped, but if they remain they must be placed AFTER だけ.
      • E.g. スミスさんだけ(が)来きた。[Only Mr. Smith came.]
    • Other particles such as に, と, or で can NOT be dropped. They may be placed before or after だけ depending on the speaker’s intent. When the particle is placed before だけ, the sentence conveys a stronger feeling of exclusiveness.
      • E.g. スシロだけに行いきました。[I went to Sushiro only.]
      • E.g. スシロにだけ行いきました。[I ONLY went to Sushiro.]
  • With adjectives and verbs, keep in mind that だけ modifies the full preceding phrase rather than the single preceding word. Misplacing だけ can completely change the connotation:
    • E.g. 魚さかなだけを食たべた。[I ate only fish.] Here だけ follows the noun 魚さかな and not the predicate 食たべた, so the sentence conveys the idea of “The only thing I ate was fish“.
    • E.g. 魚さかなを食たべただけだ。[The only thing I did was eat fish.] Here だけ follows the full phrase 魚さかなを食たべた, which conveys the idea of “I ate fish and did nothing else“.
  • A potential form verb + だけ expresses the idea of “Do X as much as one can“.
    • E.g. 踊おどれるだけ踊おどろう。[Let’s dance as much as we can.]
    • E.g. 食たべられるだけ食たべたい。[I want to eat as much as possible.]

Example Sentences:

スミスさんだけ(が)来きた。[Only Mr. Smith came.]

僕ぼくにだけ話はなしてください。[Talk to me only, please.]

私わたしは日本にほんへ一度いちどだけ行いった。[I only went to Japan once.]

雪子ゆきこさんとはデートしただけだ。[I only dated Yukiko, nothing more.]

この家いえは大おおきいだけだ。[This house is big, that’s all.]

このお菓子かしは色いろがきれいなだけだ。[This candy has a pretty color, that’s all.]

できるだけゆっくり話はなしてください。[Please speak as slowly as possible.]

WILD Examples:

Listen to this line at 1:08: 大事だいじなことは本気ほんきかどうかだけ [The only thing that’s important is whether or not you’re serious]
Listen this this line from 1:29: ゆえに愛あいを伝つたえておこう、今いまあるだけ [Therefore I will convey my love, I only have the present moment]
Listen to this line at 1:00: 顔かおや声こえを想おもうだけで、居いても立たっても居いられない [Just thinking of your face and voice, I can’t contain myself]

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