immersionlog
Sign inCreate account

〜どころか

far from; let alone, not even

Plain form / Noun + どころか (な-adj + な)

Sign up free to review this point on a spaced schedule.

どころか rejects an expectation and replaces it with something more extreme: 彼は謝るどころか、怒り出した, "far from apologising, he got angry". The truth goes in the opposite direction from what you'd expect.

It also works as "let alone": 漢字どころか、ひらがなも読めない, "forget kanji, I can't even read hiragana". Here the second half is even more basic, and usually has も or さえ with a negative.

The pattern is always a surprise or a letdown: the reality is much worse (or occasionally much better) than the first idea.

Compare ばかりか ("not only… but also"), which piles on more of the same. どころか flips the expectation.

Examples

  • 彼かれは謝あやまるどころか、怒おこり出だした。

    Far from apologising, he got angry.

  • 貯金ちょきんするどころか、借金しゃっきんがある。

    Far from saving money, I'm in debt.

  • 漢字かんじどころか、ひらがなも読よめない。

    Forget kanji, I can't even read hiragana.

  • 雨あめは止やむどころか、ますます強つよくなった。

    Far from stopping, the rain got even heavier.

  • 休やすむどころか、寝ねる時間じかんもない。

    Forget resting, I don't even have time to sleep.

Related