Practice JLPT
AdvancedJLPT N1 Grammar

たかが

Only; merely; at most; it's just ~

Romaji: takaga

Meaning & usage

Only; just; mere | A noun modifier used when the speaker thinks little of the referent of the modified noun or noun phrase.

Notes

“たかが X, されど X (X is a noun)” is an advanced Japanese expression that means “It’s just X, but it’s still X”. It is usually used to emphasise that, even though something is often regarded as frivolous, it still has some nontrivial values/importance. For instance, “たかが１００円, されど１００円” means “It’s just/only 100 yen, but still 100 yen (, which has a nontrivial value)”.

Example sentences 13

  1. たかがアパート探しくらいで君に面倒をかけたくない。

    I don't want to bother you with just apartment hunting.

  2. たかがノートくらいと言われるかもしれませんが、僕にとってはとても大事なものなんです。

    You may say it's just a notebook, but to me it's very important.

  3. たかが喫煙じゃないか。どうしてそんなに犯罪者のように言われなきゃならないんだ。

    It's only smoking. Why do they have to talk about us as if we were criminals?

  4. たかが子供の言ったことだ。そんなに深刻に考えることはない。

    It's just something a child told you. You don't have to take it so seriously.

  5. たかが椅子。しかし、これによって仕事の能率が大きく左右されるし健康にも影響する。

    It's just (a matter of) a chair. But it can affect your productivity at work and influence your health.

  6. たかが漫画(くらい)と馬鹿にしてはいけない。

    You shouldn't make light of it saying it's just a cartoon.

  7. たかが無断で自転車を借りたくらい(のこと)でそんなに怒らなくてもいいでしょう。

    You don't have to get so mad at me just for borrowing your bicycle without asking.

  8. たかが車の故障(くらい)でそんなに大騒ぎする必要はない。

    You don't need to make such a big fuss over a little car trouble.

  9. たかが転んだくらいで救急車を呼ぶなんて大げさだ。

    It is overreacting to call an ambulance just for falling down.

  10. たかが風邪、されど風邪。

    It's just a cold, but it is a cold.

  11. たかが１０万円で何ができると言うのですか。

    What do you expect us to do with only 100,000 yen?

  12. 人間一人の知恵などたかが知れている。

    One person's wisdom doesn't amount to much.

  13. 公共事業によって景気が回復する領域などたかが知れている。

    There's hardly any area in which the economy can be improved through public projects.

All N1 grammar