Getting things done with just

‘dake de’ alone

by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro Feb 26, 2018

Isshūkan mizu-dake-de ikite-itan-da-tte. (He said he lived alone

for a week on just water.)

Situation 1: The Okubo family are watching TV news about a boy who got
lost on a mountain and was found a week later.

母:  うわあ、あの男の子、すごいね。一週間水だけで 生きていたんだっ

て。

光男:  へえ、食べ物がなかったのか。そんなに長い間、 食べ物がなくて

も水だけで大丈夫なんだね。

まり子:  すごいね！ まり子は、水だけじゃだめ。ジュースがないと。

Haha: Uwā, ano otoko-no-ko, sugoi-ne. Isshūkan mizu-dake-de ikite-itan-

datte.

Mitsuo: Hē, tabemono-ga nakatta-no-ka. Sonna-ni nagai aida, mizu-dake-

de daijōbu-nan-da-ne.

Mariko: Sugoi-ne! Mariko-wa mizu-dake-ja dame. Jūsu-ga nai-to.

Mother: Wow, that boy is great! He said he lived alone for a week on just
water.

Mitsuo: What, he had no food? That means we can live on water alone for
such a long time.

Mariko: Great! But I couldn’t do with just water. I need juice!

Today we’ll look at meanings and uses of the expression XだけでY. Here, X
is a noun, だけ is the particle that shows the limit or range of X, and Y is
the phrase or clause that describes the state, action or result. This pattern
indicates that just X is fine/good enough, or that you can do something
with X alone, as with the mother’s 水(みず)だけで生(い)きる (to live on
just water) or Mitsuo’s 水だけで大丈夫(だいじょうぶ) (all right with just
water). When X is a negative clause or one with a negative meaning, the
pattern becomes XだけではY as in 水だけでは生きられない (unable to live
on just water) or as in Mariko’s 水だけではだめ (impossible with just
water), using じゃ, the colloquial contracted form of では.

Situation 2: A TV commercial advertises instant noodles.

コマーシャル： お湯をかけて３分待つだけで、おいしいラーメンができ
上がります。

Komāsharu: O-yu-o kakete sanpun matsu-dake-de, oishii rāmen-ga

dekiagarimasu.

Commercial: Just add hot water and wait for three minutes and your
delicious ramen will be ready.

In the pattern XだけでY, X can be a verb or verb phrase in the noun-

modifying form, as in the announcer’s 3分(さんぷん)待 (ま)つだけで (by
waiting for just three minutes). One more example: この子(こ)は、人(ひ
と)の顔(かお)を一度(いちど)見(み)ただけで、その顔を正確(せいかく)に
描(か)くことができる (After this child has seen a face just once, he/she
can draw it accurately).

Bonus Dialogue: During a lunch break at the office, two colleagues are
eating together. Ms. Gray notices Ms. Tamachi is drinking the same juice
she did the other day.

グレイ：  あれっ、田町(たまち)さん、また…。そのジュース、ずいぶん
お気(き)に入(い)りなのね。

田町：  ううん、そうじゃなくて、ダイエットなの。ちょっと値段(ねだ
ん)は高(たか)いんだけど、「飲(の)むだけでやせられる」っていうすごい
ジュースなのよ。これを飲むと食欲(しょくよく)がなくなって、あまり 食
(た)べなくなるの。ちょっと飲んでみる？

グレイ：   うん…、ウッ、甘(あま)い！ こんなに甘いジュースを飲んだ
ら、確(たし)かに食欲もなくなる。でも、これより、私(わたし)のダイ
エット法(ほう)のほうがずっといいよ、簡単(かんたん)だし、お金(かね)
もかからないし。

田町：  どんな方法(ほうほう)？

グレイ：  自炊(じすい)するだけ。

田町：  ああ、栄養(えいよう)のバランスを考(かんが)えて、ちゃんとし
たものを作(つく)るのね。

グレイ：  そうじゃなくて…。私、すごく料理(りょうり)が下手(へた)だ
から、自分(じぶん)で作ると、まずくて少ししか食べられないの。あ、で
も田町さんはお料理が得意(とくい)だから、この方法はだめか。

Gray: Ah, Ms. Tamachi, that juice again! You must love it.

Tamachi: No, it’s not that, I’m on a diet. It’s a bit expensive, but it’s a great
juice, as it says, “You can lose weight just by drinking it.” When I do, I lose
my appetite and don’t eat much. Why don’t you have a taste?

Gray: OK … woah, it is sweet! Drink juice as sweet as this and you’re sure
to lose your appetite. But my way is much better — it’s easy and won’t cost
you a thing.

Tamachi: What method’s that?

Gray: I just cook for myself.

Tamachi: Oh, you mean you cook good food while thinking about the
nutritional balance?

Gray: Not that: I’m a bad cook, so when I cook I can only eat a little, as the
dishes are so bad. Oh, but Ms. Tamachi, you’re great at cooking, so this
method would be useless for you.