Using the Japanese particle “Shika”

Hey guys. Welcome one and all to another incredible Japanese lesson from Bondlingo, your go to for the best Japanese lessons on the web. Today, boy do we have an awesome lesson for you, we are going to be discussing the very useful Japanese particle “shika” which will allow you to be able to say “nothing else but” / “only”.

Using the Japanese particle “Shika”

As always, we will be stating by looking at how the phrase is made up grammatically to teach you the real fundamentals of the particle. We will then be moving on to a sentence round where we will be introducing various sentences so you can really get to grips with how the phrase is used. Lastly, we will be teaching you how to implement and effective study method so you will never ever forget how to use “しか”. Not only that, you will be able to use it confidently in your communication moving forward to.

So ladies and gentlemen lets jump right into todays lesson and start learning all about “shika”

What is “Shika”? Breaking down the fundamentals of the particle.

Let’s first start by breaking down a sentence that uses the phrase “しか” Usually しか (shika) is used when the speaker thinks that something is not enough or is too little. Let’s take a look at this example below:

ケーキが一つしかありません。
ke-ki ga hitotsu shika arimasen
There is only one cake. There is nothing else but one cake

In this sentence the speaker will be feeling that there is not enough cake to feed a certain amount of people, or something along those lines. As you can see, the “shika” particle is placed after the noun and before the verb. This placement follows suit in most examples too. Also we use the negative “arimasen” to portray “there is nothing but”.

It will definitely take some getting used to but for the time being lets now have a look at some other example sentences to ensure that you can understand the usage better. Through various different examples you will be able to get a better feel and understanding for the usage in general.

Using example sentences to understand things further.

Let’s now take a look at some really great sentences to help you with the understanding of the particle. Please remember to read these sentences over and over, out loud, as many times as you can to really help with the pattern recognition. This will really help you in the long run and we will discuss this further in the next section where we will talk about todays effective study method for remembering “shika”  

ペンを１本しか持っていません。
Pen o ippon shika motteimasen.
I only have one pen

In this example, the speaker is saying that they have only 1 pen and implies that they have nothing else.

I only love ben. (Nobody else)
ベンしか愛せない。
Ben shika aisenai.

Here the speaker is saying that they ONLY love ben and cant love anyone else.

彼は、女の子にしか優しくない。
Kare wa, onna no ko ni shika yasashiku nai.
He is only nice to girls.

In this example the boy is only nice to girls and implies that he is not nice to boys

朝は、パンしか食べない。
Asa wa, pan shika tabenai.
I only eat bread for breakfast. (Nothing else.)

In this example the speaker is saying that they only eat bread for breakfast and nothing else.

Now that we’ve finished the examples sentences let’s move on and look at the effective study technique.

An effective study method to help you fully master “shika”.

So, now we’ve got done with the example sentences, we are now going to have a look at an effective study technique to help you remember the phrase.

First, what we need you to do is go back to the sentence examples and read them through as many times as it takes until they are committed to memory.  

Then you should try and translate the English meaning back to Japanese without looking at the Japanese. Once you have successfully mastered this try making 10 – 20 of your own examples. Either make these for yourself or send them to Japanese friends. This way you will get used to using “shika” in real situations and your confidence will grow with using the particle. Make sure you follow this method as it is extremely important.

Okay guys, wow that was an incredible lesson today, we really hope you found it useful and managed to grasp this new particle. As always. If you have any further questions or ideas for content that you would like us to cover in future lessons, please do not hesitate to get tin touch right away as we love receiving your ideas. Have a great day everyone and until next time “またね”.

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