Japanese from zero · N4 Lesson 20
Only, just, as much as
〜ばかり ・ 〜だけで ・ number + も ・ 〜など / 〜とか〜とか ・ または / 〜でも
In this lesson, you will learn to say someone does nothing but one thing, that one small thing alone is enough, that an amount is surprisingly large, to give a few examples from a list, and to offer a choice or a soft suggestion. Lisa and Sakura shop for café みどり and run into Ryo.
By the end you will be able to say
りょうは おにぎりばかり 食べて います。Ryo eats nothing but rice balls.
おにぎりは 見るだけで 元気に なります。Just looking at rice balls cheers me up.
牛乳を 十本も 買いました。We bought a whole ten bottles of milk.
牛乳とか 砂糖とか、たくさん 買います。We buy lots of things, like milk and sugar.
後で お茶でも 飲もう。Let's have tea or something later.
The grammar in this lesson
- Nothing but: 〜ばかり — Noun + ばかり, or て-form + ばかり いる, says someone does or has only that, usually too much of it.
- Just by, with only: 〜だけで — A plain form or a noun + だけで says that one small thing alone is enough for the result.
- As many as: number + も — A number + も says the amount is surprisingly large.
- Things like: 〜など, 〜とか〜とか — など and とか〜とか give a few examples from a longer list.
- Or, or something: または / 〜でも — または is a formal 'or'; でも after a noun makes a soft suggestion, 'or something'.