Nothing but: 〜ずくめ
名詞 + ずくめ
Noun + ずくめ: “nothing but, entirely”. For an outfit in a single colour (黒ずくめ) or a run of events of the same kind, good or bad (いいことずくめ, 規則ずくめ).
In short
〜ずくめ means “nothing but, made entirely of”. It's used for an outfit in a single colour (黒ずくめ: all in black) or a run of events all of the same kind (いいことずくめ: nothing but good news, 規則ずくめ: rules everywhere). Unlike まみれ and だらけ, it can be positive.
- 黒ずくめの男が店に入ってきた。くろずくめのおとこがみせにはいってきた。A man dressed all in black came into the shop.
- 結婚に昇進と、今年はいいことずくめの一年だった。けっこんにしょうしんと、ことしはいいことずくめのいちねんだった。A wedding, a promotion: this year has been nothing but good news.
- この寮は規則ずくめで、息が詰まりそうだ。このりょうはきそくずくめで、いきがつまりそうだ。This dormitory is all rules; it's suffocating.
The basics
ずくめ comes from 尽くす (“to exhaust, to go all the way”): the thing is made of A from start to finish, there's nothing else. You hear it for an outfit in a single colour, and for a period filled with a single type of event.
The nuance depends on the noun: いいことずくめ and おめでたいことずくめ are joyful, 規則ずくめ and 失敗ずくめ are oppressive. ずくめ itself stays neutral: it only says “nothing but”.
This year has been nothing but good news.
- noun
- grammatical form
- verb
- 今年はいいことずくめの一年だった。ことしはいいことずくめのいちねんだった。This year has been nothing but good news.
- 犯人は黒ずくめの服装をしていたという。はんにんはくろずくめのふくそうをしていたという。The culprit was reportedly dressed all in black.
How to form it
Like まみれ, ずくめ works as a noun: attach it to the noun, then だ, の or で.
| Use | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| predicate | noun + ずくめだ | 今日はいいことずくめだ |
| before a noun | noun + ずくめの + noun | 黒ずくめの男 |
| cause, linking | noun + ずくめで | 規則ずくめで息苦しい |
- 正月はごちそうずくめで、つい食べ過ぎてしまった。しょうがつはごちそうずくめで、ついたべすぎてしまった。New Year was one feast after another, so I ended up eating too much.
- 初めての海外出張は、失敗ずくめだった。はじめてのかいがいしゅっちょうは、しっぱいずくめだった。My first business trip abroad was one blunder after another.
ずくめ, だらけ, まみれ: the nuance
だらけ says “too much, full of scattered things”, always negative (傷だらけ). まみれ says “soiled, coated” (泥まみれ). ずくめ says “exclusively, from start to finish” and can be a compliment.
For the colour of clothes, only ずくめ works: 黒ずくめ, 白ずくめ. For scattered concrete objects (ゴミ, 石), ずくめ doesn't work: you say ゴミだらけ.
- 部屋はゴミだらけで、足の踏み場もない。へやはごみだらけで、あしのふみばもない。The room is strewn with rubbish; there's nowhere to put your feet.
- この仕事は、給料もいいし休みも多いし、いいことずくめだ。このしごとは、きゅうりょうもいいしやすみもおおいし、いいことずくめだ。This job — good pay, plenty of holidays: it's nothing but advantages.
Register and common nouns
ずくめ belongs to a careful register, in writing as in fairly formal conversation. The nouns that go with it are few: colours (黒・白), いいこと, おめでたいこと, ごちそう, 規則, 失敗, 異例 (exceptional), 結構 (excellent).
- 今回の人事は、異例ずくめだった。こんかいのじんじは、いれいずくめだった。These appointments were one exception after another.
Common mistakes
- Thinking ずくめ is necessarily negative like だらけ: いいことずくめ is true happiness.
- Applying it to scattered objects: “×ゴミずくめ” isn't said; it's ゴミだらけ.
- Translating 黒ずくめ as “covered in black”: it isn't dirt, it's an all-black outfit.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N1 point is on the Jōetsu Line (The land and the environment) of the Shinkansen.