1.
only one person; all alone; just one person
Emphasizes that there is just a single person, often conveying loneliness, uniqueness, or the surprising smallness of the number.
たった一人で暮らしている。
Living all alone.
合格したのはたった一人だけだった。
Only one person passed.
たった一人の家族を失った悲しみは計り知れない。
The grief of losing one's only family member is immeasurable.
A set phrase combining たった ('only, just, merely') with 一人 ('one person'). The adverb たった emphasizes how surprisingly or strikingly small the number is. It conveys emotional weight — loneliness, isolation, or the significance of being the sole person.
USAGE:
たった can combine with other counters and numbers: たった一つ ('just one thing'), たった二人 ('only two people'), たった三日 ('a mere three days').
SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS:
- ひとりぼっち: all alone — emphasizes the loneliness of being by oneself
- 唯一の: the only, sole — more formal; used as a modifier
- たった一つ: just one (thing) — the same pattern with a different counter