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JLPT N2 Grammar

でしかない

N2Limitation

N2 · Limitation · noun + でしかない

nothing more than; merely

noun + でしかない

でしかない limits something to a certain status or degree, often with a dismissive nuance.

It is common in evaluation, criticism, or defining the scope of something.

これはまだ仮説でしかなく、証明された事実ではありません。

This is merely a hypothesis, not a proven fact.

Do not use it like neutral です; it has the restrictive sense of “merely.”

しかない means “only”; attach it to a noun with で.

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