N2 · Expressions (N2)
ばかりか and ばかりでなく: not only
not only … but also
Name one thing, then add a second that goes further.
ばかりか and ばかりでなく both mean "not only … but also". The first item takes the phrase, and the second usually carries も, まで or さえ: 彼は英語ばかりか、中国語も話せる. A noun takes it directly, a verb or an i-adjective in the plain form, and a na-adjective with な: 便利なばかりか.
The two are not quite the same. ばかりでなく is a neutral "not only", close to だけでなく and a little more formal. ばかりか carries surprise: the second item is more than you would expect, often the extreme case — 子どもばかりか大人まで, "not only children but even adults".
Because ばかりか reports something that has turned out to be so, it does not sit with a request or a suggestion: "please eat fruit as well as vegetables" needs だけでなく. And the second item must go further in the same direction as the first — two good things or two bad things, the second better or worse.
English speakers who know ばかり as "nothing but", from 肉ばかり食べる, may wonder where the "only" went. It is still there: "not only" is ばかり, "only", with a question or a negative attached — か, or でなく.
The form
| after a noun | 英語ばかりか |
| after a verb | 遅刻したばかりか |
| after an i-adjective | 安いばかりか |
| after a na-adjective | 便利なばかりか |
| the neutral form | 英語ばかりでなく |
| with the second item | 子どもばかりか、大人まで |
The rules one by one
The first item takes ばかりか; the second usually takes も, まで or さえ.
彼女はピアノばかりか、バイオリンも弾ける。She can play not only the piano but the violin too.
ばかりか suggests surprise: the second item goes further than you would expect.
この歌は若者ばかりか、お年寄りにまで人気がある。This song is popular not only with young people but even with the elderly.
ばかりでなく is the neutral version, close to だけでなく.
この店は料理ばかりでなく、サービスもいい。This restaurant has good service as well as good food.
For a request or a suggestion, use だけでなく instead.
野菜だけでなく、果物も食べてください。Please eat fruit as well as vegetables.
A closer look
From conversation to the written page
Four phrases share the meaning "not only", and they line up from casual to formal: だけじゃなくて in conversation, だけでなく in ordinary writing, ばかりでなく in careful writing, and のみならず in essays, speeches and official texts.
ばかりか stands slightly apart. It is formal like ばかりでなく, but it adds the surprise that the others leave out, and it is the only one that naturally pairs with まで and さえ to mark the extreme case.
How to spot it
- ばかりか
- ばかりでなく
- ばかりか…まで
- ばかりか…さえ
- そればかりか
Example sentences
彼は遅刻したばかりか、謝りもしなかった。Not only was he late, he did not even apologise.
この薬は効かないばかりか、副作用まである。Not only does this medicine not work, it has side effects too.
彼女は仕事ができるばかりでなく、人柄もいい。She is not only good at her job but a good person as well.
大雨で、電車ばかりか飛行機まで止まった。The heavy rain stopped not only the trains but even the planes.
この町は交通が便利なばかりか、自然も豊かだ。This town not only has good transport but plenty of nature as well.
彼は漢字ばかりか、ひらがなさえ読めない。He cannot read kanji — he cannot even read hiragana.
7 more example sentences
兄は料理ばかりか、掃除も洗濯も得意だ。My brother is good not only at cooking but at cleaning and washing too.
その映画は国内ばかりでなく、海外でも評価された。The film was well received not only at home but abroad as well.
財布をなくしたばかりか、携帯まで落としてしまった。Not only did I lose my wallet, I dropped my phone as well.
運動は体ばかりでなく、心の健康にもいい。Exercise is good not only for the body but for the mind too.
彼は約束を忘れたばかりか、私のせいにした。Not only did he forget the arrangement, he blamed me for it.
この部屋は狭いばかりか、日当たりも悪い。This room is not only small but gets very little sun.
地震で家ばかりか、道路や橋も壊れた。The earthquake destroyed not only houses but roads and bridges too.
Worth knowing (1)
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そればかりか opens a sentence
そればかりか — "what is more", "on top of that" — takes the whole previous sentence as the first item and adds a second that goes further. It is a useful way to build up a case, one step at a time, in writing and in formal speech.
彼は会議に遅れてきた。そればかりか、資料も忘れていた。He was late for the meeting. What is more, he had forgotten the documents.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "not only … but also" fits a request as easily as a statement, and ばかりか does not. It reports a state of affairs that turned out to go further than expected, and a request has not turned out to be anything yet. For requests, suggestions and plans, use だけでなく.
ばかりか reports a fact that goes further than expected; for a request, use だけでなく.
Your turn
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