Japanese ばかり: only and just completed

The idea

After a noun, ばかり means “only” or “nothing but”; with an ongoing action it can suggest repetition. Attach it to a verb’s plain past (た-form) to say the action was completed recently.

Examples

• 弟おとうとは肉にくばかり食たべます。My younger brother eats only meat.
• 休やすみの日ひはゲームばかりしています。On my days off, I do nothing but play games.
• 彼かれはいつも文句もんくばかり言いっています。He is always doing nothing but complaining.
• 今いま、昼ひるご飯はんを食たべたばかりです。I have just eaten lunch.
• 日本にほんに来きたばかりなので、まだ友達ともだちがいません。I have only recently come to Japan, so I do not have any friends yet.
• この本ほんは昨日きのう買かったばかりです。I bought this book only yesterday.

Watch out

たばかり expresses the speaker’s sense of recency, so even yesterday can qualify. Noun＋ばかり sometimes carries criticism; it does not necessarily mean a literal 100 percent.

Try it yourself

1. Fill in the blank with the appropriate form. 「食たべます」→ ＿＿ばかりです。

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   食べた

   食べた — Use the plain past of 食べる before ばかり to say you just ate.

2. Fill in the blank with the appropriate form. 「来きます」→ ＿＿ばかりです。

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   来た

   来た — The irregular past of 来る is 来た; add ばかり to express recent arrival.

3. Fill in the blank with the appropriate form. 弟おとうとは肉にく＿＿食たべます。

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   ばかり

   ばかり — After 肉 it focuses on meat as the only or predominant food.

Use it today

Describe one habit you do too often and one thing you have recently done.