たばかり— Just did (subjective recency)

• さっき起きたばかりです。

  Sakki okita bakari desu.

  I just woke up (a moment ago).

  literal recency

• 日本に来たばかりです。

  Nihon ni kita bakari desu.

  I've only just come to Japan (could be weeks ago).

  psychological recency — still feels new

• 買ったばかりの時計が壊れた。

  Katta bakari no tokei ga kowareta.

  The watch I'd just bought broke.

  noun-modifying: [た-form ばかり] + の + [noun]

• ・Subjective vs objective: たところ is the literal present moment, but たばかり depends on how you feel — you can say 結婚したばかり ('just got married') even six months later.
• ・Modifying nouns: use 〜たばかりの to describe just-finished things, e.g. 買ったばかりの車 (a car just bought), 焼いたばかりのパン (bread just baked).
• ・Contrast with 〜たところ for the 'literal snapshot' just-finished meaning.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones たばかり is tested against.

• 間 (あいだ) — Throughout a Duration
• 間に (あいだに) — A Point Within a Window
• あとで — After (with a time gap)
• 頃 / ごろ — Around / About (approximate time)
• までに — By / No later than (deadline)
• 〜おきに — The Gap Logic (Intervals)
• たところ — Just finished (this very moment)
• ているところ — In the Middle of Doing