だけ Expressions

Table of Contents

だけあって

As expected of (Positive)
Fact + だけあって + Positive result

だけあって is used to express an expected result.
This is almost always a positive nuance. It basically means さすが.

You can only use this pattern for Fact → Expectation → Result; not for commands, statements of intention, or anything that doesn’t follow from the facts.

At the end of a sentence, だけあって becomes だけのことはある

Examples

筋トレしているだけあって、強い – Well, he’s doing strength training so of course he’s strong.
毎日日本語を調べているだけあって、上手だ – As expected of researching Japanese everyday, their Japanese is good.
彼が進めるだけあって、とても優秀だ – As expected of being recommended by him, he’s very capable.
彼は賢い。東大に勉強しただけのことはある – He’s smart. As expected of someone who studied at Tokyo University.

だけに

As expected of
More so because of…

だけに also means “As expected of”, just like だけあって.
Unlike だけあって, negative nuance sentences are ok.
However it can be used to express the reason for a stronger reaction to something.

As expected of

As expected of
Fact + だけに + Result

This meaning is just like だけあって.
Some people suggest that だけに unlike だけあって, is allowed to be used with negative statements.
This appears to be true, but negative examples are pretty rare.

だけに does not generally appear at the end of a sentence.

筋トレしているだけに、強い. – As expected of doing strength training, he’s strong.
評価がいいだけに食べ物は美味しい – As expected of its reputation, the food is good.
卓球部の顧問をしているだけに、卓球に詳しい
As expected of the table tennis club adviser, he knows a lot about table tennis.
新人だけにミスが多い – As expected of the newbie, he makes a lot of mistakes.

More so because of

More X because of
Reason + だけに + More X at result

This meaning is used for being more X at a result for some reason.
It emphasis that, due to an expectation the result was more surprising, etc.
This pattern tends to use the progressive forms of verbs.

死んだと思もっていただけに、彼が生きていること嬉しかった
Because I thought he was dead, I was even happier he was alive.
彼女からもらったキーホルダーだけに、壊れた時は悲しい
Because I got it from my girlfriend, I was even sadder when it broke.
久々に会えるだけに、会えなくなる時はつらかった
Because it had been a while, it was tough when we couldn’t meet.

だけのことだ

Not a big deal

だけのことだ is a phrase that expresses “It’s no big deal“.
It downplays the difficulty or impressiveness of the action it attaches to.
This shouldn’t be used for things that ARE a big deal.

*There are 2 “different” meanings here: “Just have to” and “I just did X”

Just need to do

This meaning is typically used with a conditional; most commonly たら or なら.
(And almost never ば or と)

失敗したらまた頑張ればいいだけのことだ – If you fail, you just have to try again.
全部食べたらまた作るだけのことだ – If I eat all of them, I just need to make more.
忘れたらまた調べるだけのことだ – If I forget, I can just look it up again.

Just did/doing

Downplays the actions. Used to appear humble.
Could also be turned against someone else.

当然のことをやっただけのことだ – I just did what was natural.
本当のことを言っただけのことだ – I just told the truth.
日本語が上手だね。いいえ、ただ日本人を繰り返しているだけのことだ.
You’re good at Japanese. No, its just that I’m copying Japanese people.

だけましだ

Not good, but at least…
Plain Verb/Adjective + だけましだ
Noun + である + だけましだ

だけましだ is exactly what you’d expect. It literally means “Better by just X”
It is used in bad situations when you at least have some small good thing.

Examples

子供が車に引かれて怪我したが、生きているだけましだ – The kid was hit and injured by a car, but at least he survived.
病気で貯金がなくなったが、命があるだけましだ – I used up my savings by being sick, but at least I’m alive.
財布が盗まれたが、何も履いていなかっただけましだ – My wallet was stolen, but at least nothing was in it.
カープを落として割ったが、古いカープであるだけましだ – I dropped and broke a cup, but at least it was an old one.

References

Nihon5bunka (だけに、だけあって difference)
Nihongo-Applied Linguistics (だけに、だけあって difference)
絵でわかる (だけに)
Weblio (だけに)