Structure
Noun + だけしか + ない
Details
Standard
About だけしか
だけしか is a combination of two adverbial particles, だけ 'only', and しか 'nothing but'. This structure primarily follows nouns, before part (B) of the sentence will have a corresponding ない based word.
Despite all of these possibilities, it should be noted that だけしか～ない is an expression that appears with negative verbs, far more than any of the other combinations.
Fun Fact
だけしか may appear as though it is saying 'only' twice, but each particle has its own specific nuance. These nuances are as follows:
だけ - Removes one thing (from within a group), and presents it as the 'only' thing that fits a certain criteria.
しか - Highlights something that exists by itself as not having any alternatives.
Due to this, each meaning compounds together, with だけ saying 'just this', while しか adds 'and only this!'. Reversing the order and putting しか before だけ would not work, as the sequence of selection needs to be logical.
Synonyms
Related
Examples
--:--
この時間、医師は一人だけしかいません。
At this time of day, there is only one doctor present.
椅子はここにあるものだけしかありません。
The chairs here are the only chairs.
私には従兄弟が一人だけしかいません。
I only have one cousin.
僕は日本語だけしかできません。
I can only speak Japanese.
現金は今１０００円だけしかありません。
I only have 1000 yen in cash.
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How to use しか & だけ & だけしか
Maggie Sensei
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だけしか – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (15 in total)
casual
Durdool
That is odd, I see it as the only cup not being 500 yen.
casual
Now I see it as “not” as well. Quite strange, not sure if it’s some sort of caching issue or something else is going on.
Normally だけしか means しか with extra emphasis.
I would understand this sentence as “All other cups do not cost 500 yen. This cup is the only one that costs 500. Why is that?”
There’s also a question of what it means to “cost 500 / not cost 500”. Exactly 500? 500 or less, so it’s affordable if you only have 500? 500 or more, so you’ll get at least 500 by selling it? Maybe this is where double negative gets flipped on its head.