〜ばかりに: meaning and usage

How to form it

• verb (plain form)/い-adjective+ばかりに
• な-adjective (stem)+な/である+ばかりに
• noun+である+ばかりに
• noun/な-adjective (stem)+だった+ばかりに

How it is used

Says that A alone led to an unwanted result B, often with regret: 'just because A'. B is not a command or an intention. Compared with 「〜せいで」, it stresses that this one cause was enough.

Examples

1. 彼女は赤ちゃんを誘拐したばかりに犯罪者になった。

   She became a criminal simply because she kidnapped a baby.

2. 私が余計なことを言ったばかりに、二人はけんかになってしまった。

   Just because I said something I shouldn't have, the two of them ended up arguing.

3. パスポートの期限を確認しなかったばかりに、旅行に行けなかった。

   Just because I didn't check my passport's expiry date, I couldn't go on the trip.