Vocabulary

りんご

apple

これ

this

それ

that

食べる(たべ・る) ru-verb

to eat

この

this （abbr. of これの）

歌(うた)

song

歌う(うた・う) u-verb

to sing

その

that （abbr. of それの）

人(ひと)

person

好き(す・き) na-adj

likable; desirable

販売機(はん・ばい・き)

vending machine

五百円玉(ご・ひゃく・えん・だま)

500 yen coin

小林(こ・ばやし)

Kobayashi (last name)

返事(へん・じ)

reply

来る(く・る) exception

to come

準備(じゅん・び)

preparations

終わる(お・わる) u-verb

to end

ここ

here

名前(な・まえ)

name

書く(か・く) u-verb

to write

いい i-adj

good

The particle だけ is used to express that that’s all there is. Just like the other particles we have already learned, it is directly attached to the end of whichever word that it applies to.

Examples

1. りんごだけ。
   Just apple(s) (and nothing else).

2. これとそれだけ。
   Just that and this (and nothing else).

When one of the major particles are also applied to a word, these particles must come after だけ. In fact, the ordering of multiple particles usually start from the most specific to the most general.

1. それだけは、食べないでください。
   Just don’t eat that. (Anything else is assumed to be OK).

2. この歌だけを歌わなかった。
   Didn’t sing just this song.

3. その人だけが好きだったんだ。
   That person was the only person I liked.

The same goes for double particles. Again だけ must come first.

• この販売機だけでは、五百円玉が使えない。
  Cannot use 500 yen coin in just this vending machine.

With minor particles such as から or まで, it is difficult to tell which should come first. When in doubt, try googling to see the level of popularity of each combination. It turns out that からだけ is almost twice as popular as だけから with a hit number of 90,000 vs. 50,000.

• 小林さんからだけは、返事が来なかった。
  A reply has not come from only Kobayashi-san.

Unlike some particles, you can directly attach だけ to verbs as well.

1. 準備が終わったから、これからは食べるだけだ。
   Since the preparations are done, from here we just have to eat.

2. ここに名前を書くだけでいいですか？
   Is it ok to just write [my] name here?

Vocabulary

この

this （abbr. of これの）

乗車券(じょう・しゃ・けん)

passenger ticket

発売(はつ・ばい)

sale

当日(とう・じつ)

that very day

有効(ゆう・こう)

effective

アンケート(a n ke e to)

survey

対象(たい・しょう)

target

大学生(だい・がく・せい)

college student

A particle that is essentially identical both grammatically and in meaning to だけ is のみ. However, unlike だけ, which is used in regular conversations, のみ is usually only used in a written context. It is often used for explaining policies, in manuals, and other things of that nature. This grammar really belongs in the advanced section since formal language has a different flavor and tone from what we have seen so far. However, it is covered here because it is essentially identical to だけ. Just googling for のみ will quickly show the difference in the type of language that is used with のみ as opposed to だけ.

1. この乗車券は発売当日のみ有効です。
   This boarding ticket is only valid on the date on which it was purchased.

2. アンケート対象は大学生のみです。
   The targets of this survey are only college students.

Vocabulary

これ

this

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

見る(み・る) ru-verb

to see

今日(きょう)

today

忙しい(いそが・しい) i-adj

busy

朝ご飯(あさ・ご・はん)

breakfast

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

全部(ぜん・ぶ)

everything

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

ううん

no (casual)

何(なに)

what

もらう

to receive

頑張る(がん・ば・る) u-verb

to try one’s best

こう

(things are) this way

なる u-verb

to become

逃げる(に・げる) ru-verb

to escape; to run away

もう

already

腐る(くさ・る) u-verb

to rot; to spoil

捨てる(す・てる) ru-verb

to throw away

I carefully phrased the title of this section to show that しか must be used to indicate the lack of everything else. In other words, the rest of the sentence must always be negative.

• これしかない。
  There’s nothing but this.

The following is incorrect.

• これしかある。
  (Should be using だけ instead)

As you can see, しか has an embedded negative meaning while だけ doesn’t have any particular nuance.

1. これだけ見る。
   See just this.

2. これだけ見ない。
   Don’t see just this.

3. これしか見ない。
   Don’t see anything else but this.

Examples

• 今日は忙しくて、朝ご飯しか食べられなかった。
  Today was busy and couldn’t eat anything but breakfast.

Notice that unlike だけ, it is necessary to finish off the sentence.

• 全部買うの？
  You’re buying everything?

1. ううん、これだけ。
   Nah, just this.

2. ううん、これしか買わない
   Nah, won’t buy anything else but this.

3. ううん、これしか。
   (Wrong, the sentence must explicitly indicate the negative.)

While the major particles always come last, it turns out that しか must come after から and まで. A google search of からしか beats しかから by an overwhelming 60,000 to 600.

• アリスからしか何ももらってない。
  I didn’t receive anything except from Alice.

You can also use this grammar with verbs.

1. これから頑張るしかない！
   There’s nothing to do but try our best!

2. こうなったら、逃げるしかない。
   There no choice but to run away once it turns out like this.

3. もう腐っているから、捨てるしかないよ。
   It’s rotten already so there’s nothing to do but throw it out.

Vocabulary

これ

this

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

こう

(things are) this way

なる u-verb

to become

もう

already

やる u-verb

to do

っきゃ is another version of しか that means essentially the same thing and works exactly the same way. Just substitute しか with っきゃ and you’re good to go. This version is a bit stronger than しか in emphasis but it’s not used nearly as often so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I briefly cover it here just in case you do run into this expression.

Examples

1. これは買うっきゃない！
   There’s nothing but to buy this!

2. こうなったら、もうやるっきゃない！
   If things turn out like this, there nothing to do but to just do it!

Vocabulary

何(なに／なん)

what

おばさん

middle-aged lady

嫌(いや) na-adj

disagreeable; unpleasant

崇(たかし)

Takashi (first name)

～君(～くん)

name suffix

漫画(まん・が)

comic book

読む(よ・む) u-verb

to read

かっこ悪い(かっこ・わる・い) i-adj

unattractive; uncool

彼(かれ)

he; boyfriend

麻雀(マー・ジャン)

mahjong

直美(なお・み)

Naomi (first name)

遊ぶ(あそ・ぶ) u-verb

to play

最近(さい・きん)

recent; lately

仕事(し・ごと)

job

ばかり is used to express the condition where there’s so much of something to the point where there’s nothing else. Notice this is fundamentally different from しか which expresses a lack of everything else but the item in question. In more casual situations, ばかり is usually pronounced ばっかり or just ばっか. For example, let’s say you went to a party to find, much to your dismay, the whole room filled with middle-aged women. You might say the following.

• 何だよ！おばさんばっかりじゃないか？
  What the? Isn’t it nothing but obasan?

Or perhaps a little more girly:

• いやだ。おばさんばっかり。
  Eww. It’s nothing but obasan.

Examples

• 崇君は漫画ばっかり読んでてさ。かっこ悪い。
  Takashi-kun is reading nothing but comic books… He’s so uncool.

It is quite common in casual speech to end midsentence like this. Notice 読んでて is the te-form of 読んでいる with the い dropped. We assume that the conclusion will come somewhere later in the story.

1. 彼は麻雀ばかりです。
   He’s nothing but mahjong. (He does nothing but play mahjong.)

2. 直美ちゃんと遊ぶばっかりでしょう！
   You’re hanging out with Naomi-chan all the time, aren’t you!

3. 最近は仕事ばっかだよ。
   Lately, it’s nothing but work.

Vocabulary

過ぎる(す・ぎる) ru-verb

to exceed; to pass

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

太る(ふと・る) u-verb

to become fatter

静か(しず・か) na-adj

quiet

大きい(おお・きい) i-adj

big

面白い(おも・しろ・い) i-adj

interesting

もったいない i-adj

wasteful

情けない(なさ・けない) i-adj

pitiable

危ない(あぶ・ない) i-adj

dangerous

少ない(すく・ない) i-adj

few

佐藤(さ・とう)

Satou (last name)

料理(りょう・り)

cooking; cuisine; dish

上手(じょう・ず) na-adj

skillful

また

again

お酒(お・さけ)

alcohol

気(き)

mood; intent

つける

to attach

気をつける

(expression) to be careful

トランク(to ra n ku)

trunk

入る(はい・る) u-verb

to enter

罠(わな)

trap

時間(じ・かん)

time

足りる(た・りる) ru-verb

to be sufficient

何(なに)

what

出来る(で・き・る) ru-verb

to be able to do

彼(かれ)

he; boyfriend

彼女(かの・じょ)

she; girlfriend

昨晩(さく・ばん)

last night

こと

event, matter

全然(ぜん・ぜん)

not at all (when used with negative)

覚える(おぼ・える) ru-verb

to memorize

それ

that

すぎる is a regular ru-verb written 過ぎる meaning, “to exceed”. When すぎる is attached to the end of other verbs and adjectives, it means that it is too much or that it has exceeded the normal levels. For verbs, you must directly attach すぎる to the stem of the verb. For example, 食べすぎる means “to eat too much” and 飲みすぎる means “to drink too much”. For adjectives, you just attach it to the end after you remove the last い from the i-adjectives (as usual). One more rule is that for both negative verbs and adjectives, one must remove the い from ない and replace with さ before attaching すぎる. There is no tense (past or non-past) associated with this grammar. Since すぎる is a regular ru-verb, this grammar always results in a regular ru-verb.

Examples

1. 佐藤さんは料理が上手で、また食べ過ぎました。
   Satou-san is good at cooking and I ate too much again.

2. お酒を飲みすぎないように気をつけてね。
   Be careful to not drink too much, ok?

3. 大きすぎるからトランクに入らないぞ。
   It won’t fit in the trunk cause it’s too big, man.

4. 静かすぎる。罠かもしれないよ。
   It’s too quiet. It might be a trap, you know.

5. 時間が足りなさすぎて、何もできなかった。
   Due to too much of a lack of time, I couldn’t do anything.

6. 彼には、彼女がもったいなさすぎるよ。
   She is totally wasted on him (too good for him).

It is also common to change すぎる into its stem and use it as a noun.

Ａ

昨晩のこと、全然覚えてないな。

Man, I don’t remember anything about last night.

Ｂ

それは飲みすぎだよ。

That’s drinking too much.

Vocabulary

昨日(きのう)

yesterday

電話(でん・わ)

phone

～回(～かい)

counter for number of times

する exception

to do

試験(し・けん)

exam

ため

for the sake/benefit of

～時間(～じ・かん)

counter for span of hour(s)

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

今年(こ・とし)

this year

キロ(ki ro)

kilo

太る(ふと・る) u-verb

to become fatter

When the も particle comes after some type of amount, it means that the amount indicated is way too much. For instance, let’s look at the next example.

• 昨日、電話三回もしたよ！ I called you like three times yesterday!

Notice that the も particle is attached to the amount “three times”. This sentence implies that the speaker called even three times and still the person didn’t pick up the phone. We understand this to mean that three times are a lot of times to call someone.

1. 試験のために三時間も勉強した。
   I studied three whole hours for the exam.

2. 今年、十キロも太っちゃった！
   I gained 10 whole kilograms this year!

Vocabulary

程(ほど)

degree, extent

今日(きょう)

today

天気(てん・き)

weather

それ

that

暑い(あつ・い) i-adj

hot

寝る(ね・る) ru-verb

to sleep

時間(じ・かん)

time

ある u-verb

to exist (inanimate)

忙しい(いそが・しい) i-adj

busy

韓国(かん・こく)

Korea

料理(りょう・り)

cooking; cuisine; dish

食べる(たべ・る) ru-verb

to eat

おいしい i-adj

tasty

なる u-verb

to become

歩く(ある・く) u-verb

to walk

迷う(まよ・う) u-verb

to get lost

勉強(べん・きょう)

study

頭(あたま)

head

いい i-adj

good

ハードディスク(ha a do di i su ku)

hard disk

容量(よう・りょう)

capacity

大きい(おお・きい) i-adj

big

もっと

more

たくさん

a lot (amount)

曲(きょく)

tune

保存(ほ・ぞん)

save

出来る(で・き・る) ru-verb

to be able to do

航空券(こう・くう・けん)

plane ticket

安い(やす・い) i-adj

cheap

限る(かぎ・る) u-verb

to limit

文章(ぶん・しょう)

sentence; writing

短い(みじか・い) i-adj

short

簡単(かん・たん) na-adj

simple

良い(よ・い) i-adj

good

The noun ほど（程） is attached to a word in a sentence to express the extent of something. It can modify nouns as well as verbs as seen in the next example.

1. 今日の天気はそれほど暑くない。
   Today’s weather is not hot to that extent.

2. 寝る時間がないほど忙しい。
   Busy to the extent that there’s no time to sleep.

When you use this with conditionals, you can express something that translates into English as, “The more you [verb], the more…” The grammar is always formed in the following sequence: [conditional of verb] followed immediately by [same verb+ ほど]

• 韓国料理は食べれば食べるほど、おいしくなる。
  About Korean food, the more you eat the tastier it becomes.

The literal translation is, “About Korean food, if you eat, to the extent that you eat, it becomes tasty.” which essentially means the same thing. The example uses the ば conditional form, but the たら conditional will work as well. Since this is a general statement, the contextual なら conditional will never work. The decided と conditional won’t work very well here either since it may not always be true depending on the extent of the action.

1. 歩いたら歩くほど、迷ってしまった。
   The more I walked, the more I got lost.

2. 勉強をすればするほど、頭がよくなるよ。
   The more you study, the more you will become smarter.

You can also use this grammar with i-adjectives by using the ば conditional.

1. iPodは、ハードディスクの容量が大きければ大きいほどもっとたくさんの曲が保存できます。
   About iPod, the larger the hard disk capacity, the more songs you can save.

2. 航空券は安ければ安いほどいいとは限らない。
   It’s not necessarily the case that the cheaper the ticket, the better it is.

For na-adjectives, since you can’t use the ば conditional you have to resort to the なら conditional. Because it sounds strange to use the なら conditional in this fashion, you will hardly ever see this grammar used with na-adjectives. Since ほど is treated as a noun, make sure you don’t forget to use な to attach the noun to the na-adjective.

• 文章は、短ければ短いほど、簡単なら簡単なほどよいです。
  The shorter and simpler the sentences, the better it is.

Vocabulary

高い(たか・い) i-adj

high; tall; expensive

低い(ひく・い) i-adj

short

穏やか(おだ・やか) na-adj

calm, peaceful

この

this （abbr. of これの）

ビル(ni ru)

building

何(なに／なん)

what

犬(いぬ)

dog

聴覚(ちょう・かく)

sense of hearing

敏感(びん・かん) na-adj

sensitive

人間(にん・げん)

human

比べる(くら・べる】 (ru-verb) ru-verb

to compare

はるか

far more

上(うえ)

above

We will now learn how to add さ to adjectives to indicate an amount of that adjective. For example, we can attach さ to the adjective for “high” in order to get “height”. Instead of looking at the height, we can even attach さ to the adjective for “low” to focus on the amount of lowness as opposed to the amount of highness. In fact, there is nothing to stop us from using this with any adjective to indicate an amount of that adjective. The result becomes a regular noun indicating the amount of that adjective.

Examples

1. このビルの高さは何ですか？
   What is the height of this building?

2. 犬の聴覚の敏感さを人間と比べると、はるかに上だ。
   If you compare the level of sensitivity of hearing of dogs to humans, it is far above.