〜しかない

しかない
expression
there is only; have no choice but to
grammatical
1. there is only; there is nothing but
Attached to a noun or a quantity, it states that nothing else exists and frames the amount as insufficient. 千円(せんえん)しかない means the thousand yen is all there is, and it is not enough.
百円(ひゃくえん)しかない。
I only have a hundred yen.
席(せき)は二(ふた)つしかないので、早(はや)めに来(き)てください。
There are only two seats, so please come early.
近(ちか)くにコンビニは一軒(いっけん)しかなく、夜(よる)は早(はや)く閉(し)まってしまう。
There's only one convenience store nearby, and it closes early at night.
2. have no choice but to; the only option is to
Attached to a plain-form verb, it states that a single course of action remains. It carries resignation: the speaker is not choosing the action so much as running out of alternatives.
やるしかない。
There's nothing to do but go for it.
電車(でんしゃ)が止(と)まったので、歩(ある)くしかない。
The trains have stopped, so we have no choice but to walk.
今(いま)さら断(ことわ)れないので、引(ひ)き受(う)けるしかないだろう。
It's too late to refuse now, so I'll probably just have to take it on.

しか always pairs with a negative predicate — ない here — and replaces は, が, and を. With other particles it follows them: 駅(えき)にしかない.

Common patterns

  • Nounしかない: there is only N
  • Verb-plainしかない: have no choice but to V
  • 〜するしかなかった: there was nothing else to be done

Similar words

  • 〜だけ: only — neutral counting, no sense of shortage; 百円(ひゃくえん)だけある simply reports the amount
  • 〜以外(いがい)にない: there is nothing besides ~ — stiffer and more written
general
Added 2026.8.10 9:22 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:31
30500/30533_shikanai