Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
だけ marks a limit neutrally and works with positive or negative verbs, while しか always pairs with a negative verb and carries a sense that the amount or set is disappointingly small. Saying 時間が一時間しかある sounds wrong because しか needs the negative ない. Use 時間が一時間だけある for a plain statement of amount, and 時間が一時間しかない when one hour feels insufficient.
- だけ Use だけ when you state a limit or extent without requiring a negative verb.
- しか Use しか when you emphasize that nothing but X exists or happens, with a negative verb.
だけ dake
As much as/Only
As much as; as ~ as possible; as much as one wants | A particle meaning “to the extent that someone (can/wants to) do something or something can happen”.
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うちの子は背が伸びるだけ伸びた感じです。
It looks like my child has grown as much as he is going to.
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お金は使うだけ使っても故障の少ない車が買いたい。
I'd like to buy a trouble-free car no matter how much it costs.
しか shika
Only (with negative)
Nothing/nobody/no ~ but; only | A particle which marks an element X when nothing but X makes the expressed proposition true.
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この学校は学生が百人しかない。
This school has only a hundred students.
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この本はこの図書館（に）しかありません。
Only this library has this book.
だけ and しか are both JLPT N5 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.