〜だけ
Only / just だけ
Meaning
"Only / just ~" — neutral limitation. Unlike しか, だけ goes with an AFFIRMATIVE verb and carries no sense of insufficiency.
Formation
[noun / quantity / verb] だけ + [affirmative]
Notes
だけ can attach to verbs and particles too (食べるだけ "just eat"). しか emphasizes "nothing else" (often negative feeling); だけ is neutral.
Examples
これだけ食（た）べます。
I will eat only this.
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二人（ふたり）だけ来（き）ました。
Only two people came.
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一度（いちど）だけ行（い）ったことがあります。
I have been there only once.
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名前（なまえ）だけ書（か）いてください。
Please write just your name.
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ちょっとだけ見（み）ます。
I'll just take a quick look.
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ここだけは覚（おぼ）えてください。
Please remember at least this part.
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⚠️ Often confused with
〜しか〜ない
Only 〜しか〜ない
"Only ~" — expresses limitation, with a nuance of "nothing but / not enough". MUST be used...
[数量]＋も / [数量]＋しか〜ない
Quantity + も / しか
Colours a quantity as large (も, "as many as") or small (しか〜ない, "only").
〜てばかりいる
Do nothing but 〜てばかりいる
Criticises a repeated action — "does nothing but ~", "is always ~ing".
〜だらけ
Covered in 〜だらけ
"Covered in ~", "full of ~" — an unpleasant abundance.
〜きり
Ever since / only 〜きり
Two uses: "and that was the last of it" after a past verb, and "just / only" after a noun.
〜なんて
Something like (belittling) 〜なんて
Dismisses or belittles — "something like ~", "the very idea of ~". Can also express surpri...
〜限り（は）
As long as 〜限り（は）
"As long as ~", "as far as ~" — the condition under which the statement holds.
〜ない限り
Unless / so long as not 〜ない限り
"Unless ~", "so long as ~ does not happen".
〜に限らず
Not limited to 〜に限らず
"Not just ~", "not limited to ~".
〜に限って
Of all times 〜に限って
"Of all times / of all people ~"; also "~ alone would never".
〜に限る
Nothing beats 〜に限る
"Nothing beats ~", "~ is the best thing".
〜をもって
As of (formal) 〜をもって
"As of ~", "with ~", "by means of ~" — a formal boundary or instrument.
〜に至るまで
Extending even to 〜に至るまで
"Extending all the way to ~", "down to even ~" — the range reaches an extreme.