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I'm a bit confused about how "しかい" is used in this sentence I came across
while studying:

そこには私一人 **しかい** なかった。 "I was the only one there."

My guess is that it is an ending to "一人", but I couldn't find any information
supporting that.
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2013-06-22T19:20:28.987
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2018-07-30T09:09:19.183
2018-07-30T09:09:19.183
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translation meaning particle-しか
How is "しかい" used in this sentence?
It's actually the particle `しか` "nothing but/nobody but" plus `いなかった`, the
negative past form of `いる` "to be/to exist" (animate). Your translation is
right. It means "I was the only one there".

The particle `しか` is always paired with negative verbs like this. Taking an
example from _A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar_ (p.401):

> ボブ **しか** [来]{こ}なかった。  
>  Nobody but Bob came. = Only Bob came.

The particle `しか` works the same way in your example.
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2013-06-22T20:04:09.187
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2013-06-22T23:13:25.857
2013-06-22T23:13:25.857
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answer