Meaning and Usage of Dake (だけ)

In Japanese, だけ (dake) means "only" or "just." It limits what comes before it, showing exclusivity. For example, "一人だけ" (hitori dake) means "only one person," and "見るだけ" (miru dake) means "just look." It can also mean "enough," like in "これだけでいい" (kore dake de ii), which means "this alone is enough." だけ is a useful word to show limitation or sufficiency in everyday Japanese.

Pronunciation:

How to structure sentences using だけ?

Example Sentences (5)

今朝はコーヒーを飲むだけ、朝ごはんを食べない。

Kesa wa koohii o nomu dake, asagohan o tabenai.

This morning I will only drink coffee and not eat breakfast.

兄は数学だけが下手です。

Ani wa suugaku dake ga heta desu.

My older brother is only bad at math.

この本は日本語だけです。

Kono hon wa nihongo dake desu.

This book is only in Japanese.

このレストランは寿司だけ売っています。

Kono resutoran wa sushi dake utteimasu.

This restaurant only sells sushi.

私の友達は英語だけ話します。

Watashi no tomodachi wa eigo dake hanashimasu.

My friend only speaks English.

dake vs shika

"Dake" is used with positive verbs, while "shika" is used with negative verbs.

ひらがなだけが読める。

Hiragana dake ga yomeru.

I can only read hiragana.

ひらがなしか読めない。

Hiragana shika yomenai.

I can only read hiragana.