LEARN + JAPANESE / 30 of 186 JLPT N5
Just This Much だけ
You have ten minutes before the bus leaves, so you only browse one shelf: 一冊だけ読みました. だけ draws a neutral boundary around what is included.
I only ate vegetables.
I only understand a little Japanese.
Hint · 힌트
だけ works with either a positive or negative verb, whichever the sentence needs, and it just states a limit without implying complaint or surprise the way some other “only” expressions do later on.
I have exactly one friend.
I only drank one beer.
Hint · 힌트
だけ can also attach after a particle, 田中さんにだけ会いました, “I only met with Tanaka,” stacking neatly onto に, と, or から without changing their meaning, it just narrows the scope down to that one thing.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| vegetable | |
| vocabulary word | |
| apple | |
| family | |
| to consult, discuss | |
| door | |
| dormitory | |
| to live, reside | |
| wallet | |
| beer | |
| building | |
| outside | |
| one time | |
| Kyoto | |
| as much as possible | |
| to memorize | |
| to limit | |
| degree, extent | |
| a little | |
| except, other than |
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