Structure
Verb + しかない
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About しかない
しかない is a commonly used expression in Japanese that is partnered with verbs. It is a combination of しか, the adverbial particle, and the い-Adjective ない. This structure may be translated as 'to have no choice but (A)', or 'there is only (A)'. しかない regularly emphasizes the point that nothing apart from (A) is possible.
To use しかない, simply attach it directly to the non-past form of whichever verb you would like to highlight as being the 'only' possible action.
To use しかない, simply attach it directly to the non-past form of whichever verb you would like to highlight as being the 'only' possible action.
- こうなったら警察を呼ぶしかない。If it's come to this, there is no choice but to call the police.
- もう電車が来ないから、車で行くしかない。Since trains won't be coming anymore, there is no choice but to go by car.
- この時間帯はピザハット以外どこも開いていないね。こうなったらピザを頼むしかないね。At this hour, nowhere is open other than Pizza Hut. Now that it's come to it, there is no choice but to order some pizza, right?
- 今月は休めないから、コンサートに行くのを我慢するしかない。I can't take a day off this month, so I have no choice but to resist going to the concert.
Fun Fact
Occasionally, しかない may be used in manga, anime, or other forms of media that use casual language. In these cases, it is not uncommon to see しか abbreviated to っきゃ, resulting in っきゃない. However, this is not a common abbreviation in daily language.- この技で倒れないのなら、必殺技を使うっきゃないな!If I can't defeat them using this move, there is no other choice but to use my special move, is there?
- これほど完璧なチャンスは二度とないから、今やるっきゃないでしょう。An opportunity this perfect will not come around a second time, so I have no other choice but to do it now.
Synonyms
Examples
迎えに来てもらえないので、歩いて帰るしかない。
(They) won't come pick us up so we have no choice but to walk home.
人が多いから、並ぶしかない。
Because there are a lot of people, we have no choice but to line up.
飲みに行くしかない。だって、私の誕生日だから。
We have no choice but to go drinking. Why? Because it's my birthday.
時が来るのを待つしかないですよ。
You have no choice but to wait for the time to come.
こんなにうまくいかないかなあ… もう笑うしかない。
To think that it would go this poorly... I have no choice but to laugh!
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Additional example sentences and breakdown
JLPT Sensei
だけ vs. しか
Maggie Sensei
Offline
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 248
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 37
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しかない – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (7 in total)
Pep95
In which cases would they be different?
Pushindawood
@Pep95 Hey! You cannot use しか after the conditional と in the sentence that you provided. Perhaps you meant 掃除しかしない? If we just breakdown 掃除するしかない and 掃除しかしない then we can pick apart the differences. 掃除するしかない means that there is nothing to do but clean or that one has no choice but to clean. 掃除しかしない means to do nothing but clean; the only thing that one is doing is cleaning and nothing else. You can use しか before 掃除 but you need a noun (since we are talking about cleaning, it is most likely a person) before it. 彼しか掃除しない means that he is the only one to clean (he is the only doing the cleaning (no one else cleans)). I hope this helps!
Pep95
Pretty clear! Thank you so much.
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