だけ

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See also: たけ

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
丈

Derived from 丈 (take, “height, limit”). Usage as a particle appears after 1600, during the Edo period.

Pronunciation

Particle

だけ • (dake) 

  1. in a negative, limiting sense: only, just, limit
    ローマ字(じ)だけの辞(じ)書(しょ)
    Rōmaji dake no jisho
    rōmaji-only dictionary
    • 1905, 夏目漱石 (Natsume Sōseki), 吾輩は猫である (Wagahai wa Neko de aru, “I Am a Cat”), Mōri Yasotarō (tr.):
      何(なん)ても暗薄(くらうす)いじめじめした所(ところ)でニャー／＼泣(な)いて居(ゐ)た事(こと)丈(だけ)は記憶(きおく)して居(ゐ)る。
      Nantemo kurausui jimejime shita tokoro de nyānyā naite ita koto dake wa kioku shite iru.
      All I remember is that I was miaowing in a dampish dark place
    Synonyms: ばかり (bakari), のみ (nomi), しか (shika)
  2. in a positive, non-limiting sense: amount, as much as
    寝(ね)たいだけ寝(ね)ていい。
    Netai dake nete ii.
    You can sleep as much as you want.
    これだけしてるのに
    kore dake shiteru no ni
    Even though I'm doing as much as this / Even though I'm doing this much
    Synonyms: ほど (hodo), くらい (kurai), 限り (kagiri)
Usage notes

The particle is exclusively written in kana in modern usage.

References

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of だけ – see the following entry.
【岳たけ】S
a tall mountain
a mountain peak
mount, mountain
(This term, だけ, is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as だけ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as だけ.)
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