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文法 · JLPT N5 grammar
〜しか〜ない
shika … nai · only, nothing but
しか always comes with a negative verb and means only, with the feeling that it is not enough: 百円しかない, I only have 100 yen.
How to form it
| Noun + しか + negative | 一つしかない |
| Number + しか + negative | 三人しか来なかった |
How it is used
The verb must be negative even though the meaning is positive: 「水しか飲みません」, I drink only water.
だけ is neutral: 「十分だけ」, just ten minutes. 「十分しかない」 is only ten minutes left.
Examples
Tap a kanji for its reading.
- 財布に千円しかありません。I only have 1,000 yen in my wallet.
- 昨日は三時間しか寝ませんでした。I only slept three hours last night.
- 日本語は少ししか話せません。I can only speak a little Japanese.
- 教室に学生が二人しかいません。There are only two students in the classroom.
Common mistake
- ✗ 水しか飲みます。✓ 水しか飲みません。しか needs a negative verb.