So what’s the difference? Both phrases have a negative connotation and both can be used to say there are (too) many of something.

The most important distinction is that だらけ refers to something is covered in many individual things, whereas ばかり suggests only one from many possibilities.

怪我して体が傷だらけだった。
To have an accident and be covered in bruises.

怪我して体が傷ばかりだった。
(Sounds unnatural—what else could you be covered in after an accident?).

You May Also Like

Simultaneous Actions: ~ながら vs ~間に

We have two basic ways of expressing simultaneous actions in Japanese, e.g. “I ate dinner while watching television”.…

Expressing Similarity in Japanese (よう) & (みたい)

Although the grammar for よう and みたい is slightly different their meaning is essentially the same. You can…

Honorifics in Japanese: A Complete Introduction to Keigo, Sonkeigo, and Kenjogo

Honorifics play a huge role in the Japanese language. They define underlying power dynamics and help the speaker…

Combining Particles (への, での, との)

Like は and も, the possessive particle の can also append itself to other particles to help modify…