“No, it's just a scratch.”

You cut your finger. Your sister wants you to put some medicine on it to make sure that it doesn't get infected. You say this because it's only a little cut and you don't think that's necessary.

No, it's just a scratch.

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it's just a scratch

"A scratch" is a very light cut. You might get "a scratch" if you

  • bump into the sharp corner of a table
  • fall off of a bicycle

When you get hurt or cut, you usually check to see if the cut is deep. If it's not, you can use this phrase.

A: Is it serious?

B: No, it's just a scratch.

just (something)

Talk about something that's not very important, not interesting, not a big problem, or not hard with the word "just". For example:

It's just a short trip. I won't be gone for long.

This is just a temporary job for me.