N3 · Expressions (N3)
ばかり: only just, and nothing but
たばかり, ばかり, てばかりいる
After the た-form ばかり means "only just"; after a noun or a て-form it means "nothing but".
ばかり has two everyday uses, and the word in front of it tells them apart. After the た-form it means "have only just": 日本に来たばかりです, "I have only just come to Japan". Unlike たところ, which is strict about the clock, たばかり reports how recent something feels to the speaker — it can be an hour, a week or a year: 先月買ったばかりなのに、もう壊れた, "I only bought it last month, and it is already broken".
After a noun it means "nothing but", "only that, and too much of it": 肉ばかり食べる, "eat nothing but meat". After a て-form, with いる, it means "do nothing but": 遊んでばかりいる. This use nearly always carries a note of criticism or complaint.
たばかり behaves like a noun. It takes の before another noun (買ったばかりの靴) and な before のに and ので (来たばかりなので). The noun-plus-ばかり use usually replaces が and を, but other particles stay: 友達とばかり遊ぶ.
English speakers mix up ばかり and だけ, which both translate as "only". だけ is a neutral limit: 水だけ飲んだ, "I only drank water". ばかり says one thing keeps happening, usually too often: 水ばかり飲んでいる, "he keeps drinking water and nothing else". In casual speech it is often ばっかり.
The form
| only just | 買ったばかりです |
| only just — and yet | 買ったばかりなのに |
| before a noun | 買ったばかりの靴 |
| nothing but (noun) | ゲームばかりする |
| do nothing but | ゲームをしてばかりいる |
| spoken | ゲームばっかり |
The rules one by one
た-form + ばかり: only a short time has passed, as the speaker feels it.
先週引っ越したばかりです。I only moved here last week.
たばかり behaves like a noun: の before a noun, な before のに and ので.
買ったばかりの傘をなくした。I lost the umbrella I had only just bought.
Noun + ばかり replaces が and を and means "only that, and too much of it".
弟は甘いものばかり食べている。My younger brother eats nothing but sweet things.
て-form + ばかりいる: someone does one thing all the time, and the speaker disapproves.
娘は毎日スマホを見てばかりいる。My daughter does nothing but look at her phone every day.
A closer look
たばかり or たところ
Both translate as "have just", and in the first minutes after an event both are possible: 今着いたところです and 今着いたばかりです. The difference shows as soon as time stretches. たところ describes the stage an action has reached at this moment and only works when the moment is right now. たばかり is the speaker's sense that something is recent, and it happily takes 先週, 先月 or even 去年.
A useful test: if a time word further back than "just now" is in the sentence, use ばかり. And because たばかり is noun-like, it is the one that turns up in ばかりなのに — "it is so new, and yet" — which is how most complaints about new things are phrased.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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ばかり follows a number or a length of time
it means "about", like ほど or くらい.
三日ばかり休みをもらった。I got about three days off.
This is the older meaning of the word, "roughly that much". It is still understood everywhere but sounds a little old-fashioned or bookish; everyday speech mostly uses くらい or ほど. One phrase keeps it fully alive: 少しばかり, "just a little".
How to spot it
- たばかり
- ばかりの
- ばかりなのに
- てばかりいる
- ばっかり
Example sentences
日本に来たばかりなので、まだ分からないことが多いです。I have only just come to Japan, so there is still a lot I do not understand.
先月買ったばかりなのに、もうパソコンが壊れた。I only bought it last month, and the computer is already broken.
さっき食べたばかりだから、まだお腹がすいていない。I have only just eaten, so I am not hungry yet.
彼は文句ばかり言っている。He does nothing but complain.
寝てばかりいないで、少しは手伝って。Stop lying around and help a little.
このクラスは男の子ばかりだ。This class is all boys.
8 more example sentences
生まれたばかりの赤ちゃんはとても小さい。A newborn baby is very small.
この本は出たばかりで、まだ読んでいません。This book has only just come out, and I have not read it yet.
入社したばかりの頃は、毎日緊張していた。When I had just joined the company, I was nervous every day.
最近、雨ばかりでいやになる。It has been nothing but rain lately, and I am sick of it.
兄はテレビを見てばかりいて、全然勉強しない。My older brother just watches TV and never studies.
子どもの頃は外で遊んでばかりいた。As a child I did nothing but play outside.
野菜ばかりじゃなくて、肉も食べなさい。Do not eat only vegetables; eat some meat too.
結婚したばかりの二人は、駅の近くに住んでいる。The newly married couple live near the station.
Worth knowing (1)
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Where the particles go
ばかり takes the place of が and を, but sits after every other particle: 友達とばかり遊ぶ, "only ever plays with friends", 東京にばかり行く, "always goes to Tokyo".
彼は同じ店でばかり買い物をする。He only ever shops at the same store.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
"Only just" describes something already done, so the verb before ばかり must be in the た-form. English "I have just" hides the past inside a present-tense auxiliary; Japanese puts it on the verb itself.
After the ta-form ばかり means only just; after a noun or a te-form it means nothing but.
Your turn
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