～だらけ
Be covered with or full of something undesirable
You’ll be able to attach だらけ to nouns to describe many unwanted things, marks, or errors and distinguish this from neutral quantity or repeated actions with ばかり.
雨上がりの森を探検した芽衣が、泥だらけになって戻ってきました。
ameagari no mori o tanken shita mei ga, dorodarake ni natte modotte kimashita.
What do you think this sentence means?
Mei, who went exploring the woods after the rain, came back covered all in mud.
Describe a surface covered with undesirable things
Attach だらけ to a noun to describe a surface or person covered all over with something messy, dirty, or unwanted ("covered in...", "full of...").
机の上はゴミだらけだ。
tsukue no ue wa gomidarake da.
The top of the desk is covered in trash.
猫と遊んで、手が傷だらけになった。
neko to asonde, te ga kizudarake ni natta.
I played with the cat, and my hands got covered in scratches.
Attach だらけ directly to a noun
Attach だらけ directly to a noun. It functions as a noun or na-adjective: <slot>noun</slot> + だらけだ, だらけの <slot>noun</slot>, だらけになる.
急いで書いたレポートは、誤字や間違いだらけだった。
isoide kaita repooto wa, goji ya machigaidarake datta.
The report I wrote in a hurry was riddled with typos and mistakes.
～ばかり vs ～だらけ
～ばかり says there is nothing but X; it can be neutral. ～だらけ says a place or thing is covered or full of X, and X is messy or unwanted.
～ばかり, nothing but
兄の部屋は漫画ばかりだ。
ani no heya wa manga bakari da.
My older brother's room has nothing but manga.
Only manga; says nothing about mess.
～だらけ, covered in, full of
兄の部屋は漫画だらけだ。
ani no heya wa mangadarake da.
My older brother's room is covered in manga.
Manga everywhere; messy.
猫を飼い始めてから、黒い服がいつも毛だらけだ。
neko o kaihajimete kara, kuroi fuku ga itsumo ke darake da.
Ever since I started keeping a cat, my black clothes are always covered in fur.
海で遊んだ子どもたちは、足が砂だらけだった。
umi de asonda kodomotachi wa, ashi ga suna darake datta.
The children who played at the beach had feet covered in sand.
何年も使っていなかった部屋は、ほこりだらけだった。
nannen mo tsukatte inakatta heya wa, hokori darake datta.
The room that hadn’t been used for years was full of dust.
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