だけ・しか・ただ: "Just/Only" (Adverbs 2)

Introduction

Have you ever been to a nice sandwich shop before? You know, the ones where you get to pick your toppings. Usually, they have all sorts of stuff: lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, olives, onions, etc. But could you imagine if you went and all they had were jalapeños?? I can’t believe they only have those spicy little fellas! How could they only have one topping!! My lunch plans are ruined!

As you may have guessed, in this lesson we’ll cover how to express “only”, in Japanese. There are three basic ways to do it, and they’re all slightly different, so buckle in!

Ayy, Whatsamatter! It’s Just Some Grammar!

Structure

• 

  Noun/Verb/Adjectiveだけ
  Example:
  → これだけ。
  ”Just this.”

• 

  ただのNoun
  Example:
  → ただのピザだ。
  ”It’s just a pizza.”

• 

  Noun/Verb/AdjectiveしかNegative Verb
  Example:
  → ピザしか食たべない。
  ”I only eat pizza.”