だけ, しか〜ない, and ばかり can all limit something, but they add different emphasis. だけ simply marks the limit. しか requires a negative predicate and strongly restricts the alternatives; it can suggest that the amount is insufficient, but context decides. ばかり suggests repeated or predominant focus on one thing and may sound critical.
only · nothing but · only, and that's not enough
Sentences
a neutral limit
polite。
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水
みず ［0］
water
noun · cold water; hot water is お湯
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だけ
だけ
only; just
particle · states the limit, and adds nothing else
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飲みました
のみました
drank
polite past of 飲む · positive, because だけ doesn't touch the verb
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I drank only water.
the same limit, and it wasn't enough
polite。
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水
みず ［0］
water
noun · the same word as the sentence above
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しか
しか
only — and it wasn't enough
particle · forces the verb negative, and replaces を and が
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飲みませんでした
のみませんでした
did not drink
polite past negative of 飲む · required by しか, not optional
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Water was all I drank.
nothing but — and it's a complaint
plain。
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弟
おとうと ［4］
younger brother
noun · your own; someone else's is 弟さん
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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ゲーム
ゲーム ［1］
game; video game
noun · from English; ゲームをする is the verb
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ばかり
ばかり
nothing but
particle · repetition seen as excessive, usually disapproving
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している
している
is doing
て-form of する ＋ いる · the ongoing pattern ばかり is complaining about
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My little brother does nothing but play games.
not enough, and it matters
plain。
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財布
さいふ ［0］
wallet; purse
noun · 財 wealth + 布 cloth
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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千円
せんえん ［0］
one thousand yen
number ＋ 円 · counted directly, no particle needed
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しか
しか
only; with emphasis on the limit
particle · emphasizes that the alternatives are limited
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ない
ない
there isn't
plain negative of ある · the negative しか demands
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I've only got a thousand yen in my wallet.
too much of one thing
plain、。
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甘い
あまい ［0］
sweet
i-adjective · also “naive” when said of a person
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もの
もの ［2］
thing
noun · 甘いもの is the ordinary word for sweets
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ばかり
ばかり
nothing but
particle · here it sits between the noun and the verb
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食べている
たべている
keep eating
て-form of 食べる ＋ いる · the ongoing habit
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と
と
if; whenever
particle · the automatic-result conditional
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体
からだ ［0］
body; health
noun · 体にいい／悪い is the set phrase
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に
に
for; to
particle · marks who or what it affects
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悪い
わるい ［2］
bad
i-adjective · 体に悪い = bad for you
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よ
よ
you know
sentence particle · marks this as news for the listener
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If you eat nothing but sweets, it's bad for you.
the other ばかり — just did it
polite。
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日本
にほん ［2］
Japan
noun · にほん and にっぽん are both correct
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に
に
to (a destination)
particle · the arrival point of 来る
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来た
きた
came; arrived
plain past of 来る · irregular: 来る／来ます／来た
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ばかり
ばかり
only just; a moment ago
after a plain past verb this is about time, not amount
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です
です
is
polite copula · ばかり is a noun, so it needs one
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I've only just arrived in Japan.
Structure
Noun／Verb＋だけ
水だけ飲んだ. States the limit and stops there. No feeling attached, and the verb stays positive.
Noun＋しか … ない
水しか飲まなかった. The verb must go negative. Adds “and that was all there was”.
Noun／Verb［て］＋ばかり
ゲームばかりしている. Repeated, excessive, and usually disapproved of.
Verb［た］＋ばかり
着いたばかり. A different word wearing the same clothes: “just did it” — about time, not amount.
Meaning
All three narrow something down. What separates them is what the speaker thinks about the narrowing.
だけ is neutral. 千円だけあります — a thousand yen, that's the amount, no comment. It's the one to reach for when you just mean “only” and nothing more.
しか stresses exclusion. Same number, different feeling: 千円しかありません says a thousand yen is all there is; whether that is enough depends on context. The grammar enforces this — しか only exists alongside a negative verb, and it swallows を and が when it takes their place.
ばかり suggests predominance. Not a shortage but a monotony: ゲームばかりしている, nothing but games. It usually carries disapproval, which is why it turns up so often in complaints about other people. And after a plain past verb it becomes an unrelated word meaning “just now” — 着いたばかり, “I've only just arrived.”
Watch out
しか is one half of a pair and can't stand alone. The verb has to be negative: 千円しかない, 水しか飲まない. 千円しかある is not a sentence.
Both come out as “only”, and that's where the trouble starts. 一人だけ来た states that one person came. 一人しか来なかった reports the same fact and adds that it was a disappointment.
After a noun or a ている, it means “nothing but”. After a plain past verb, it means “just now”. 食べてばかりいる is a complaint; 食べたばかり means you finished a minute ago.
Also asked
Yes, and the number doesn't change — only the feeling does. 一人だけ来た states that one person came. 一人しか来なかった says one came, and that wasn't enough.
Yes. 水を飲まない becomes 水しか飲まない — the を drops out. But に, で and から survive: 東京にしか行かない.
Usually, but not always. 遊んでばかりいる is criticism. In writing it can be neutral — 女性ばかりのクラス, “a class of nothing but women” — where the tone comes from context instead.
The same word, said casually. ばっかり and ばっか are spoken forms; ばかり is what you write. Nothing about the grammar changes.
のみ is the written, formal twin. Signs, contracts and announcements use it: 関係者のみ, “staff only”. In speech it sounds stiff.
Yes — だけ keeps them. 見るだけで分かる, “you can tell just by looking.” しか can't do this, because it takes the particle's place instead.
References
Japan Foundation: しか…否定 — Shows that しか limits a noun and requires a negative predicate; context shapes the implication.
Japan Foundation: だけ — Documents the limiting particle だけ and its particle placement.
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