ばかり

See also: はかり

Japanese

Alternative forms

  • 許り

Etymology

Shift from noun 計り, 測り, 量り (hakari, “measurement, amount, full amount”), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 計る, 測る, 量る (hakaru, “to measure, to weigh, to calculate”).[1][2] The meaning seems to have shifted from amount to fully, and from there to just or only.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ba̠ka̠ɾʲi]

Particle

ばかり (rōmaji bakari)

  1. (〜たばかり -ta bakari) just (recently completed action)
    食 (た)べたばかりだ。
    Tabeta bakari da.
    I just ate.
  2. (noun + ばかり) full of
    東 (とう)京 (きょう)は人 (ひと)ばかりだ。
    Tōkyō wa hito bakari da.
    Tokyo is just full of people.
  3. (〜てばかり -te bakari) only, always
    彼 (かれ)は食 (た)べてばかり居 (い)る。
    Kare wa tabete bakari iru.
    He's always eating.

Usage notes

Used in various senses, similarly to English just – just did something, just full of, just sitting there. Senses are distinguished grammatically, as per forms above. The kanji form 許り is rarely used.

Derived terms

  • ばかし (bakashi) (same meaning; informal, speech)
  • ばっか (bakka) (same meaning; informal, speech)

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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