Full of, covered in: 〜だらけ
Noun + だらけ
Noun + だらけ: “full of, covered in”, with an unpleasant feel. For a neutral or pleasant abundance, it's いっぱい.
In short
〜だらけ means “full of, covered in”, always with an unpleasant feel: 泥だらけの靴 (shoes covered in mud), 間違いだらけの作文 (an essay riddled with mistakes). It attaches directly to a noun.
- 子どもたちは、泥だらけになって帰ってきた。こどもたちは、どろだらけになってかえってきた。The children came home covered in mud.
- この作文は間違いだらけだ。このさくぶんはまちがいだらけだ。This essay is riddled with mistakes.
- 祭りの後、道はゴミだらけだった。まつりのあと、みちはごみだらけだった。After the festival, the street was littered with rubbish.
The basics
だらけ describes a surface or a whole overrun by something: it's everywhere, too much of it, and it's unpleasant. The word is often used to complain or criticise — English “covered in”, “riddled with”, “littered with”.
This essay is riddled with mistakes.
- noun
- grammatical form
- 猫と遊んだら、服が毛だらけになった。ねことあそんだら、ふくがけだらけになった。After playing with the cat, my clothes were covered in hair.
- 人生は問題だらけだ。じんせいはもんだいだらけだ。Life is full of problems.
How to form it
Noun + だらけ. The result behaves like a noun: だらけだ at the end of a sentence, だらけの before a noun, だらけになる for a change.
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + だらけだ | 部屋がゴミだらけだ | the room is full of rubbish |
| Noun + だらけの + noun | 傷だらけの手 | hands covered in cuts |
| Noun + だらけになる | 泥だらけになる | end up covered in mud |
- 長い山道を歩いて、足が傷だらけになった。ながいやまみちをあるいて、あしがきずだらけになった。After the long mountain path, my legs were covered in scratches.
- この辞書は古くて、書き込みだらけだ。このじしょはふるくて、かきこみだらけだ。This dictionary is old and full of notes.
だらけ or いっぱい?
いっぱい (“full”) is neutral or positive: 花でいっぱいの庭, a garden full of flowers. だらけ always adds annoyance: 花だらけ would suggest petals everywhere that need sweeping up. At N2, you'll see まみれ, even stronger, for a liquid or dust that sticks (汗まみれ).
| Sentence | Impression |
|---|---|
| 庭は花でいっぱいだ | pleasant: a garden full of flowers |
| 庭は花だらけだ | annoying: flowers everywhere |
| 部屋はゴミだらけだ | unpleasant: rubbish everywhere |
- 春になると、お寺の庭は花でいっぱいになる。はるになると、おてらのにわははなでいっぱいになる。In spring, the temple garden fills with flowers.
Common mistakes
- Using it for something pleasant: 「花だらけ」 sounds negative; for a lovely garden in bloom, say 花でいっぱい.
- Putting の between the noun and だらけ: 「泥のだらけ」 is wrong; it's 泥だらけ.
- Using it for a countable quantity: “lots of friends” is 友達がたくさんいる, not 友達だらけ (which would sound like being overrun).
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 N3 point is on the Randen Line (Nature and climate) of the Kyoto lines.