〜だけ

Meaning

だけ is attached directly after a noun to indicate that something is limited to only that thing or person. It expresses the meaning of 'only' or 'just' and is used to show exclusivity or restriction. When だけ modifies a noun that has other modifiers, those modifiers come before だけ.

Formation

Examples

1. クラスに 中国人の 学生が 10人 います。アメリカ人は 1人だけいます。
   There are 10 Chinese students in the class. There is only 1 American student.

2. 私の 休みは 日曜日だけです。
   My day off is only on Sundays.

3. 母が 作る 料理だけを 食べたいです。
   I want to eat only the dishes that my mother cooks.

Summary

• だけ attaches directly to nouns to mean 'only' or 'just'
• It limits or restricts the scope to one specific thing or amount
• When a noun has modifiers (adjectives, relative clauses), だけ comes after all of them