nothing but ~, only ~, just did ~

Intermediate

15-20 min

very common

Expert Reviewed

Explanation

Expresses exclusivity or that an action was just completed.

[Verb た form] + ばかり / [Noun/て form] + ばかり

今、起きたばかりです。

Ima, okita bakari desu.

I just woke up.

彼はゲームばかりしている。

Kare wa geemu bakari shite iru.

He does nothing but play games.

たばかり = just did, ばかり = only/nothing but.

～ために (tame ni)

in order to ~, for the purpose of ~

～のに (noni)

although ~, despite ~, even though ~

～にもかかわらず

despite ~, in spite of ~

～ようになる

come to ~, become able to ~, reach the point where ~

JLPTBooks Editorial Team

Japanese Language Education Specialists

Last updated: Jan 10

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