Structure
Number + しか + Verb［ない］
Details
Standard
About Number + しか〜ない
The adverbial particle しか is often compared to だけ, in that it also expresses 'only'. However, unlike だけ, しか can only be used in negative statements. Due to this, しか～ない is regularly translated as 'there's only (A)', or 'there's nothing but (A)'. しか～ない may be used to express numbers, or nouns. In this lesson we will examine numbers.
To use this construction, the number that you want to express as being 'all that exists' will go before しか, then しか will be followed by a verb in its ない, or ありません form.
Fun Fact
The main difference between しか and だけ, is that だけ suggests that (A) was 'chosen' from among a group where several other choices exist. しか on the other hand, implies that there are no other choices, and (A) is the only possibility/thing that exists.
Antonyms
Related
Vocab Coverage
All Bunpro Vocab that appears on this item.
Examples
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彼女にはまだ１回しか会っていない。
I have met her no more than once.
計画書は１枚しか提出できない。
You can submit only one plan.
髪の毛が３本しか生えていない。
He has no more than three hairs on his head.
一ヶ月しか期間がないのに、あなたは変われるの？
You only have (the period of) one month. Can you change?
彼には１度しか勝っていない。
I have only beaten him once.
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Number + しか〜ない – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (4 in total)
Pushindawood
@max99x Hey! ていない is often used to describe events or actions that did not happen/take place in the past. This is especially true for events/actions that occurred recently. Here is a great breakdown of the difference between ていません and ませんでした. Cheers!
fdlbt
I’ll be the first to say that example sentences on Bunpro usually provide good context clues to guide you toward the answer without using hints. However, in the case of 「一ヶ月しか期間がないのに、あなたは変われるの？」, even after using hints to figure out the answer, the english version itself (“You only have one month. Can you change?”) makes little sense to me. Maybe add a word or two to clarify what the listener is being asked to change?
steffuld
I wonder if it makes more sense to compare しか to 以外 rather than to だけ because it feels like (A)しか(B)ない means something like ‘anything other (or more) than (A) not (B)’:
今日は１００円しか持っていない。
As for today, [anything more than] 100 yen [I] hold not.if it makes sense