のみ

のみ means "only": it limits what comes before it to that one thing. It follows a noun directly, or a verb in the dictionary form, and it is the written, formal counterpart of だけ.

You meet のみ on signs and notices, in terms and conditions, news reports and academic writing. In conversation the same sentence takes だけ; のみ said aloud sounds like a notice being read out.

のみ or だけ

Where both mean "only", the difference is register. だけ also has meanings のみ lacks – "as much as" (すき好きなだけ) and "just by" (みる見るだけで) – and のみ can't stand in for it there.

• × 好きなのみ食べてください → 好きなだけ食べてください

With particles

のみ can sit before or after に, で and から, with no change in meaning.

Usage notes

These go beyond のみ after a noun.

After a verb: "all that is left"

A verb in the dictionary form plus のみだ says there is nothing left to do but that. ただ often comes in front.

In the middle of a sentence, のみで means "did nothing but".

のみならず

のみならず means "not only… but also" and is the formal form of だけでなく. It has its own entry.