JLPT N4 · Time & sequence
たばかり (ta bakari)
～たばかり — “just ～ed”
In short · Attached to the ta-form of a verb, it shows that not much time has passed since the action. If the speaker feels it was “just now”, it may actually be days or months ago.
Pattern
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動詞た形＋ばかりVerb ta-form + ばかり (着いたばかり)
Meaning
Use it when, in the speaker’s feeling, the action is still fresh. A result or state often follows: 入社したばかりで慣れていない.
Compared with たところ
たばかり depends on the speaker’s sense and can cover days or months. たところ is limited to the moments right after the action ends.
Examples
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今（いま）、駅（えき）に着（つ）いたばかりです。
Ima, eki ni tsuita bakari desu.
I just arrived at the station now.
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この会社（かいしゃ）に入（はい）ったばかりで、まだ慣（な）れていない。
Kono kaisha ni haitta bakari de, mada narete inai.
I just joined this company, so I'm not used to it yet.
-
買（か）ったばかりの傘（かさ）をなくしてしまった。
Katta bakari no kasa o nakushite shimatta.
I lost the umbrella I had just bought.
Common mistakes
- Attach it to the ta-form (着いたばかり).
- It is not for an action in progress; it describes the time after it finished.
More grammar points
- 間（あいだ） 間 — “during ～ / while ～ / between ～”
- 間（あいだ）に ～間に — “while ～ (something happens during that time)”
- 後（あと）で ～あとで — “after ～ / later”
- 頃（ころ / ごろ） 頃（ころ／ごろ）— “around (a time) / when ～”
- 急（きゅう）に 急に — “suddenly”
- までに までに — “by (a deadline)”
- おきに ～おきに — “every ～ / at intervals of ～”
- さっき さっき — a little while ago
- たところ ～たところ — “have just ～ed”
- ているところ ～ているところ — “in the middle of ～ing”
- ところ ～ところだ — about to ～, just on the verge of ～
- やっと やっと — finally, at last
- あまり～ない あまり～ない — “not very ～ / not much”
- ば ～ば — the conditional “if ～”
- 場合（ばあい）は ～場合は — “in the case of ～ / if ～”
- ばかり ばかり — “nothing but ～ / only ～”
- だけで ～だけで — “just by ～ / with only ～”
- 出（だ）す ～出す — “start ～ing suddenly”
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