Enough to: 〜だけの + N
Verb (dictionary／potential) + だけの + N
Verb (dictionary / potential) + だけの + N: the amount or level it takes to do something (お金, 力, 時間, 余裕, 価値). Often negative. Here, だけ doesn't mean “only”.
In short
〜だけの + N expresses the amount or level needed to do something: “enough… to, what it takes to, the… needed to”. 家を買うだけのお金 = the money it takes to buy a house. Here だけ doesn't mean “only”: it measures an amount against an action. The sentence is often negative (〜だけの余裕がない) or evaluative (〜だけの価値がある). Neutral register.
- 家を買うだけのお金がない。いえをかうだけのおかねがない。I don't have enough money to buy a house.
- 彼には、みんなを説得できるだけの力がある。かれには、みんなをせっとくできるだけのちからがある。He has what it takes to win everyone over.
- 今の私には、ペットを飼うだけの余裕がない。いまのわたしには、ぺっとをかうだけのよゆうがない。Right now, I don't have the time or means to keep a pet.
- 大変でも、留学するだけの価値はあると思う。たいへんでも、りゅうがくするだけのかちはあるとおもう。Even if it's hard, I think studying abroad is worth it.
The basics
You know だけ as “only” (N5). Here, だけ keeps its idea of measure, but instead of limiting, it measures “just what's needed”: 〜だけの + N is “the amount of N that matches the action”. Typical nouns are お金, 力, 時間, 余裕, 価値, 実力, 体力.
Very often the sentence is negative (“I don't have what it takes to…”) or evaluative (“it's worth…”).
I don't have enough money to buy a house.
- verb
- grammatical form
- noun
- adjective
- この仕事を一人でやるだけの時間はない。このしごとをひとりでやるだけのじかんはない。I don't have the time it would take to do this job alone.
- 彼女には、店を一人で経営するだけの実力がある。かのじょには、みせをひとりでけいえいするだけのじつりょくがある。She has the skills it takes to run a shop on her own.
How to form it
The verb is in the dictionary form or the potential, followed by だけの and the noun. The の is required: だけ doesn't attach directly to a noun. できるだけ (“as much as possible”, N4) belongs to the same family: “to the full extent of what one can”.
| Construction | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (dictionary) + だけの + N | 家を買うだけのお金 | enough money to buy a house |
| Verb (potential) + だけの + N | 説得できるだけの力 | what it takes to persuade |
| Verb + だけの価値がある | 行くだけの価値がある | it's worth the trip |
| できるだけ (fixed) | できるだけ早く | as soon as possible |
- あの美術館は、遠くても行くだけの価値がある。あのびじゅつかんは、とおくてもいくだけのかちがある。That museum is worth the trip, even though it's far.
- できるだけ毎日、日本語の本を読むようにしている。できるだけまいにち、にほんごのほんをよむようにしている。I try to read in Japanese every day, as far as possible.
だけの, だけ, ほどの
だけ on its own (N5) limits: 水だけ飲んだ (I only drank water). だけの + N after a verb measures what an action requires. ほどの (N4) expresses a degree, often an extreme one: 泣きたいほどの痛み (pain bad enough to make you cry).
In short: だけの = “enough to”, ほどの = “to the point of”, だけ = “only”.
| Expression | Idea | Example |
|---|---|---|
| だけ | only, limit | 水だけ飲んだ |
| だけの + N | enough… to | 買うだけのお金 |
| ほどの + N | to the point of (degree) | 泣きたいほどの痛み |
- 朝は、コーヒーだけ飲んで出かけた。あさは、こーひーだけのんででかけた。In the morning, I just had a coffee and went out.
- 声も出ないほどのショックを受けた。こえもでないほどのしょっくをうけた。I got such a shock I couldn't even speak.
Common mistakes
- Translating だけ as “only”: 家を買うだけのお金がない doesn't mean “I only have money to buy a house”, but “I don't have enough money to buy one”.
- Forgetting の before the noun: you say 説得するだけの力, not “説得するだけ力”.
- Mixing up だけの (enough to) and ほどの (to the point of): the first measures what's needed, the second the intensity.
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 N2 point is on the Meikō Line (The economy and trade) of the Nagoya lines.