～ばかりに
A bad result happened simply because of one thing
You’ll be able to single out one cause as the regrettable reason an undesirable consequence occurred.
鍵を忘れたばかりに、自転車のラックを開けられませんでした。
kagi o wasureta bakari ni, jitensha no rakku o akeraremasen deshita.
What do you think this sentence means?
Just because I forgot the key, I couldn’t open the bicycle rack.
Regret a single triggering cause
～ばかりに expresses that an unfortunate or unexpected consequence happened solely because of one action, state, or slight mistake, carrying a strong tone of regret.
一言多かったばかりに、友だちを怒らせてしまった。
hitokoto ookatta bakari ni, tomodachi o okorasete shimatta.
Just because I said one word too many, I made my friend angry.
背が低いばかりに、バスケットの選手になれなかった。
se ga hikui bakari ni, basuketto no senshu ni narenakatta.
Just because I was short, I could not become a basketball player.
Attach ばかりに to a cause of regret
Attach ばかりに typically to the past plain form of a verb (た-form), an adjective, or である/な-form. The following clause must describe an undesirable outcome.
うそをついたばかりに、友達の信用を失った。
uso o tsuita bakari ni, tomodachi no shin'you o ushinatta.
Simply because I told a lie, I lost my friend’s trust.
メールアドレスを一文字間違えたばかりに、大事な書類が届かなかった。
meeru adoresu o hitomoji machigaeta bakari ni, daiji na shorui ga todokanakatta.
Just because I got one letter of the email address wrong, the important documents never arrived.
安いという理由だけで古い車を買ったばかりに、修理に何度もお金がかかった。
yasui to iu riyuu dake de furui kuruma o katta bakari ni, shuuri ni nando mo okane ga kakatta.
I bought an old car only because it was cheap, and all that did was make me pay for repairs again and again.
最後に少し油断したばかりに、試合に負けてしまった。
saigo ni sukoshi yudan shita bakari ni, shiai ni makete shimatta.
Just because we let our guard down a little at the end, we lost the game.
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