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JLPT N4 · Particles

ばかり (bakari)

ばかり — “nothing but ～ / only ～”

In short · ばかり shows that the same thing happens again and again, or that there is only that one kind of thing: ‘nothing but ～’. It often carries a critical or surprised feeling. It follows a noun or a verb て-form + いる.
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Pattern

  • 名詞＋ばかり＋動詞 noun + ばかり + verb (ゲームばかりしている)
  • 動詞て形＋ばかりいる te-form + ばかりいる: keeps doing only that (寝てばかりいる)

Structure

Put ばかり after a noun, where を, が, or の would be dropped: ゲームをする → ゲームばかりする. With a verb, use the て-form: 寝てばかりいる (does nothing but sleep).

Feeling

ばかり often means the speaker finds the amount or bias excessive: 甘い物ばかり食べている (eats nothing but sweets). It tends to be critical, so be careful when talking about others.

Compared with だけ

だけ simply states ‘only’ in a neutral way. ばかり adds the sense of ‘again and again’ or ‘too many’, so it is more emotional. 食べたばかり (verb た-form + ばかり) is a different use meaning ‘just ate’.

Examples

  • 弟（おとうと）はゲームばかりしています。

    Otōto wa gēmu bakari shite imasu.

    My little brother does nothing but play games.

    ゲームをする → ゲームばかりする.

  • 妹（いもうと）は甘（あま）い物（もの）ばかり食（た）べている。

    Imōto wa amai mono bakari tabete iru.

    My little sister eats nothing but sweets.

    を is dropped before ばかり.

  • 友（とも）だちは同（おな）じ歌（うた）ばかり聞（き）いている。

    Tomodachi wa onaji uta bakari kiite iru.

    My friend listens to nothing but the same song.

    Repeated action; slightly critical.

Common mistakes

  • Drop を/が before ばかり: ゲームばかりする, not ゲームをばかりする.
  • It sounds critical. To state a neutral fact, だけ is safer.

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