ばかり
Just, Only, Nothing but
Structure
Noun + ばかり
Explanation
The adverbial particle ばかり is attached to nouns or the て-form of verbs to emphasize that an action is performed repeatedly, or that something exists in excess, to the exclusion of other things. This creates the nuance of 'doing nothing but (A)' or 'there is only (A)'. When used with verbs, it frequently appears as てばかりいる, which is a variation of the standard ている pattern, though いる is not strictly necessary to express this meaning.
- 弟は毎日ゲームをしてばかりいる。My younger brother does nothing but play video games every day.
- 最近はビールばかり飲んでいるから、太ってきた。I've been drinking nothing but beer lately, so I've started to gain weight.
To connect a clause ending in ばかり to a following clause, it is often paired with で (for both verbs and nouns) or いて (for verbs only). This structure places ばかり right at the point where the two parts of the sentence join. Note that other conjunctions can also follow, like ばかりだから, to show a reason.
- 赤ちゃんがいつも寝てばかりいて、家事が全然できない。The baby is always sleeping, so I can't get any housework done at all.
- 夫はテレビを見てばかりで、育児を全然しない。My husband just watches TV all the time and doesn't help with the kids at all.
- この店は高い物ばかりで、何も買えない。This shop has nothing but expensive items, so there's nothing I can buy.
It's important to recognize that the で that follows ばかり in these cases is not the location particle で. Instead, it is the conjunctive form of the auxiliary verb だ.
Fun Fact
While almost always written in hiragana, ばかり can be written with the kanji 許り (related to 計る). The meaning of this kanji is 'to permit' or 'to allow'. This origin suggests a nuance where only (A) is 'allowed' to happen or exist in a given context.
Examples
うちの猫は寝てばかりいる。
My cat does nothing but sleep.
彼は言い訳ばかりする。
He does nothing but make excuses.
心配してばかりいないで、少しはリラックスしなさい。
Don't do nothing but worry, try to relax a little.
そんなに泣いてばかりいると、目が腫れるよ。
If you do nothing but cry like that, your eyes will swell up.
最近は雨ばかりで、洗濯物が乾かない。
Lately it has been nothing but rain, so the laundry won't dry.
同じ間違いばかり繰り返さないでください。
Please don't just keep making the same mistake over and over.
あの店の客は若い人ばかりですね。
The customers at that shop are all (nothing but) young people, aren't they?
仕事が忙しくて、カップラーメンばかり食べています。
I'm so busy with work that I've been eating nothing but instant noodles.
けんかしてばかりの二人が結婚するなんて、信じられない。
I can't believe those two, who do nothing but fight, are getting married.
文句を言ってばかりいても、何も変わらないよ。
Even if you do nothing but complain, nothing will change.
子供の頃は外で遊んでばかりだった。
When I was a kid, I did nothing but play outside.
この仕事は難しいことばかりで、大変です。
This job is nothing but difficult tasks, so it's very tough.