Japanese with Manga

Left to waste away in the Room of Darkness with 〜ばかりだ

Grammar Explanation: Nothing but with 〜ばかり

Saphir stands by a domed device, looking calmly to the side as he speaks. Large shocked text from Sailormoon runs down the left side of the panel.
美少女戦士セーラームーン » Volume 4 » Page 14

Sailormoon is searching the Black Moon clan’s maze-like castle for Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter, who were taken captive. She sensed them for an instant, then lost them. Weak and short of breath, she overhears Saphir talking with another member of the clan, who asks whether the three warriors are still alive.

サフィール:
「セーラームーンを手(て)に入(い)れるためだけに捕(と)らえた三人(さんにん)だ　もう用(よう)はない」
「『暗黒(あんこく)の部屋(へや)』で干(ひ)からびるのを待(ま)つばかりだろう」
“We only took those three to get our hands on Sailormoon. We have no more use for them.”
“I expect all that's left for them is to wait in the 'Room of Darkness' until they shrivel up.”
うさぎ:
「三人(さんにん)が生(い)きてる！？　『暗黒(あんこく)の部屋(へや)』！？」
“The three of them are alive!? The 'Room of Darkness'!?”

Key Points

1待(ま)つばかりだろう, all that’s left is waiting
  • After a verb’s dictionary form, ばかりだ can say that one step is all that remains. 待(ま)つばかりだ means “there’s nothing left but to wait”, like あとは待(ま)つばかりだ “all that’s left is to wait”.
  • だろう replaces だ to make it a guess: “I expect”. Saphir hasn’t checked on the prisoners and doesn’t care to.
  • Saphir is cold, not complaining, so this ばかり carries none of the criticism it often has in ゲームばかりしている.
2干(ひ)からびるのを待(ま)つ
  • の turns 干(ひ)からびる into a noun, “shriveling up”, and を makes it the thing being waited for. 〜のを待(ま)つ is “wait for something to happen”.
  • 干(ひ)からびる means “to dry up” or “to shrivel”. Said of people locked in a dungeon, it means wasting away until they die.
  • で after 暗黒(あんこく)の部屋(へや) marks where the waiting happens.
3ためだけに捕(と)らえた三人(さんにん)だ
  • ために gives the purpose, and だけ limits it: 手(て)に入(い)れるためだけに is “only for the purpose of getting hold of”.
  • The whole clause セーラームーンを手(て)に入(い)れるためだけに捕(と)らえた describes 三人(さんにん). Saphir says the three are nothing more than people captured as bait.
  • もう用(よう)はない means “we have no more use for them”. 用(よう) is business or a use for something.
4生(い)きてる, still alive
  • 生(い)きてる is the casual form of 生(い)きている, with the い dropped. ている here describes a state: the three are alive.
  • Sailormoon hears more than Saphir means to say. If her friends are left to waste away, they are still alive, and she now knows the name of the place where they are held.

Vocabulary

(To obtain)

手(て)に入(い)れる means to get something into your possession, whether by buying, finding, or taking it.

(For)

ため is the purpose or benefit of something: 〜のため means “for the sake of” or “in order to”. It can also give a cause: “because of”. It is also written 為(ため).

(To capture)

捕(と)らえる means to catch a person or animal so it can’t get away. It can also mean to grasp a meaning or to capture someone’s attention.

(Already)

もう means something has already happened, or with a negative, “no longer”. Before a number, it means “more”. Said alone, it shows frustration.

(Business)

用(よう) is something that needs doing, such as an errand or a matter to take care of. In 用(よう)がある and 用(よう)はない, it is the reason for needing a person or thing, so もう用(よう)はない means “no more use for them”.

(To exist)

ある is to exist or be in a place, for things and plants rather than people or animals. It also means to have something, or for an event to take place.

(Room)

部屋(へや) means a room separated from other spaces in a building.

(To shrivel up)

干(ひ)からびる means to dry out completely and shrivel. It can also describe ideas or feelings that have lost all their freshness.

(To wait)

待(ま)つ is to stay until someone comes or something happens.

(To live)

生(い)きる means to live or to be alive. It can also mean to make a living, or for something to stay alive in the sense of staying useful or effective.

See Also

美少女戦士セーラームーン © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.