Japanese grammar
What does ～ずくめ mean? Japanese grammar N1
～ずくめ means completely covered in; full of; nothing but.
| Level (estimated, JLPT framework) | N1 |
|---|---|
| Structure | N + ずくめ |
| Romaji | zukume |
| Meaning | completely covered in; full of; nothing but |
Forming it
| Connection | N + ずくめ |
|---|
How to use it
Everything around is made up of one single thing, with nothing else mixed in. Differs from two related suffixes in that the content is ALLOWED to be positive.
- 「N＋ずくめ」 = entirely N. The nouns it pairs with are limited: 黒ずくめ・いいことずくめ・ごちそうずくめ・規則ずくめ.
- This is the key distinction from 「まみれ」 (covered in something dirty) and 「だらけ」 (full of, usually negative): 「いいことずくめ」 sounds completely natural, while 「いいことだらけ」 sounds odd.
- Attaches directly to a noun and functions as a noun: 「黒ずくめの男」「今月はいいことずくめだった」.
Examples
今日は朝からいいことずくめだった。
Today was full of good things from the morning.
彼は黒ずくめの服を着ていた。
He was dressed entirely in black.
Keep in mind
- Don't insert 「の」 before ずくめ: 「黒ずくめ」, not 「黒のずくめ」.
- Very few nouns can combine with it — learn it as fixed expressions.
Common mistakes
-
Wrong黒のずくめの服。
Correct黒ずくめの服。
A noun attaches directly to ずくめ.
Exam tips
- 「ずくめ」 = entirely one kind, ALLOWED to be positive (いいことずくめ); different from 「まみれ／だらけ」.