〜ずくめ (zukume)

JLPT N1 Nothing but ~ — completely full of.

Meaning

“Full of ~ / all ~.” Entirely made up of one thing — often good news, or head-to-toe black.

Formation

Noun + ずくめ

Examples

今年は結婚に昇進に、いいことずくめの一年だった。

Kotoshi wa kekkon ni shōshin ni, ii koto zukume no ichinen datta. — Marriage, a promotion — it was a year full of nothing but good news.

彼女はいつも黒ずくめの服装だ。

Kanojo wa itsumo kuro-zukume no fukusō da. — She always dresses head to toe in black.

今日はごちそうずくめで、食べきれなかった。

Kyō wa gochisō-zukume de, tabekirenakatta. — Today was one feast after another; I couldn't finish it all.

How it works

It says everything about a situation is that one thing, with no exceptions. It pairs with a limited set of nouns: いいこと, 黒, ごちそう, 記録ずくめ, etc.

Compare 〜だらけ (covered in ~, usually messy/negative) and 〜まみれ (physically smeared with ~).

Compared with similar expressions

• 〜ずくめ — “all ~,” entirely one thing (often positive)

• 〜だらけ — “full of ~,” messy, usually negative (間違いだらけ)

• 〜まみれ — “smeared with ~,” physical substance (泥まみれ)

Common mistakes

• Only a limited set of nouns take ずくめ — it's not fully productive.

• Don't swap it for だらけ; ずくめ isn't for mess or faults.

Related grammar

• 〜だらけ — full of (messy)

• 〜まみれ — covered/smeared with

• 〜ばかり — nothing but ~