Nothing but: 〜てばかり・N ばかり
Verb-て + ばかり いる; N + ばかり
N ばかり / Verb-て ばかり いる: there's nothing but that, someone does nothing but that, and it's too much. More critical than だけ; not to be confused with 〜たばかり.
In short
ばかり after a noun or after 〜て (+ いる) means “nothing but, always that”: someone does nothing but that, or there's nothing but that. The sentence is almost always critical: it's too much, it isn't right.
- 弟は ゲームを して ばかり いる。おとうとは げーむを して ばかり いる。All my little brother does is play video games.
- 肉ばかり 食べないで、やさいも 食べなさい。にくばかり たべないで、やさいも たべなさい。Don't eat only meat — eat your vegetables too.
- 今週は 雨ばかりで いやに なる。こんしゅうは あめばかりで いやに なる。It's done nothing but rain this week, and I'm sick of it.
The basics
ばかり stresses excess: there's nothing but that, someone does nothing but that, and it isn't normal. It's English “all he does is…” or “nothing but…”, with a touch of reproach or irritation.
All my little brother does is play video games.
- noun
- verb
- particle
- 彼女は 毎日 ないて ばかり いる。かのじょは まいにち ないて ばかり いる。She spends her days crying.
- この クラスは 男の 子ばかりです。この くらすは おとこの こばかりです。There are nothing but boys in this class.
The two constructions
After a noun, ばかり replaces が or を: 肉ばかり 食べる (not “肉をばかり”). With a verb, take the て-form, then ばかり, then いる, which says it keeps going: 遊んで ばかり いる.
| Construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| N + ばかり + verb | 肉ばかり 食べる | to eat nothing but meat |
| N + ばかりだ | 雨ばかりだ | it's nothing but rain |
| Verb-て + ばかり いる | 遊んで ばかり いる | to do nothing but play |
- 父は テレビばかり 見て います。ちちは てれびばかり みて います。My father watches nothing but TV.
- 遊んで ばかり いないで、勉強しなさい。あそんで ばかり いないで、べんきょうしなさい。Stop doing nothing but play — study!
ばかり, だけ and たばかり
だけ (N5) sets a simple limit, with no judgement: “only”. ばかり criticises an excess: “nothing but, all the time”. And 〜たばかり (previous point) is unrelated: it's “have just done”. For “only, and that's not much”, しか〜ない comes in the next point.
| Phrase | Meaning | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| 肉だけ 食べた | I only ate meat | neutral |
| 肉ばかり 食べて いる | he eats nothing but meat | reproach |
| 肉を 食べた ばかりだ | I've just eaten meat | recency |
- きょうは コーヒーだけ 飲みました。きょうは こーひーだけ のみました。Today, I only had a coffee. (neutral)
- 彼は コーヒーばかり 飲んで いる。かれは こーひーばかり のんで いる。He drinks nothing but coffee. (it's too much)
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 〜てばかり いる (do nothing but) and 〜たばかり (have just done): the verb form changes everything.
- Translating it as a plain “only”: ばかり criticises, だけ just states.
- Forgetting いる after 〜てばかり: “寝て ばかり” on its own is heard in speech, but the full form is 寝て ばかり いる.
- Keeping を before ばかり: it's 肉ばかり 食べる, not “肉を ばかり”.
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 N4 point is on the Imazatosuji Line (Family and neighbours) of the Osaka subway.