日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

~どころか

~dokoro ka

far from; let alone

When to use it

Use ~どころか to knock down an assumption and replace it with something at the opposite extreme — the listener expects X, but reality is not just "not X," it's the reverse or something far more extreme. In reports and negotiations it is the standard way to correct an over-optimistic premise (「黒字どころか赤字」) or to signal that even a modest step is out of the question. Note it is distinct from ~どころではない ("this is no time for…"), which denies that circumstances allow X at all.

Formation

  • Verb: plain form (non-past or past) + どころか — 回復するどころか、支払ったどころか
  • i-adjective: plain form + どころか — 忙しいどころか
  • na-adjective: stem + どころか (in stiff written style, ~であるどころか) — 簡単どころか
  • Noun: bare noun + どころか — 値下げどころか、黒字どころか
  • The second clause usually carries a contrastive marker (むしろ・逆に・〜さえ・〜も) and states the stronger, opposite fact.

Examples

  • Far from being in the black, it's our largest deficit ever.

  • Performance isn't recovering — it's getting worse.

  • Far from being opposed, I got full backing.

  • A price cut is out of the question; we're weighing an increase.

  • The procedure was anything but simple — it took a full day.