～しかない
only / no choice but
～しかない is built from the particle しか plus a negative verb, most often ない (the plain negative of ある, to exist). しか always needs a negative after it, and together the pair means “nothing but”.
After a noun it works like English “only”, with a feeling of “and that is not much”. After a verb in dictionary form, it means “there is no choice but to do it”.
1. Noun + しか + negative: only
Use しか with a negative verb to say there is nothing other than the thing mentioned. Unlike だけ, which is a neutral “only”, しか suggests the amount is small or not enough.
財布に百円しかない。
“I only have 100 yen in my wallet.”
- 財布（さいふ）= wallet
- に = location marker (in)
- 百円（ひゃくえん）= 100 yen
- しか = nothing but (always with a negative)
- ない = there is not
2. Verb + しかない: no choice but to
After a verb in dictionary form, しかない says this action is the only option left. The speaker often sounds resigned or determined.
やるしかない。
“There's no choice but to do it.”
- やる = to do
- しかない = there is no (option) other than
バスが来ないから、歩くしかない。
“The bus isn't coming, so there's nothing to do but walk.”
- バス = bus
- が = subject marker
- 来ない（こない）= doesn't come
- から = because / so
- 歩く（あるく）= to walk
- しかない = no choice but
How to form it
Noun + しか + negative verb, or Verb (dictionary form) + しかない
- 水（みず）= water → 水しか飲まない（みずしかのまない）= drink nothing but water
- やる = to do → やるしかない = have no choice but to do it
- 待つ（まつ）= to wait → 待つしかない（まつしかない）= can only wait
Key idea
しか erases every option except one: “apart from this, nothing”. With a noun that means “only”, and with a verb it means the action is the one path left.
Other N4 grammar
Updated .