Structure
Verb + (か)+ と思いきや + Phrase[た]
[い]Adjective + (か)+ と思いきや + Phrase[た]
[な]Adjective + (か(1))+ と思いきや + Phrase[た]
Noun + (か(1))+ と思いきや + Phrase[た]
(1)(だ)
Details
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Standard
使用域
一般
About と思いきや
と思いきや is an expression used in Japanese for indicating that something is not as one had thought, and will often be translated as 'despite having thought (A), (B)', or 'when I thought that (A), it was actually (B)'. と思いきや is a combination of the case marking particle と, the conjunctive form of the う-Verb 思う, 思い, the classical auxiliary verb き, which indicates past tense, and the classical binding (adverbial) particle や, which marks actual or rhetorical questions in the same way as か. Due to this, a more literal translation is 'I thought it had (A), but I guess (B)'.
Despite the origin of the phrase, in modern Japanese と思いきや is just thought of as an emphatic structure that highlights the speaker's surprise in relation to something not being as they had expected.
と思いきや may follow any word in its standard form.
Despite the origin of the phrase, in modern Japanese と思いきや is just thought of as an emphatic structure that highlights the speaker's surprise in relation to something not being as they had expected.
と思いきや may follow any word in its standard form.
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今日も残業するかと思いきや、4時になったと同時に上司が「みんな、毎日お疲れさん、今日は早めに帰って、ゆっくりしてくれ」と言ってくれたから定時前に帰ることができた。I thought I would have to work overtime again today, but as soon as it hit 4:00, my boss said, 'Hey guys, thanks for working hard every day, go home early today and relax,' so I was able to leave before the regular time.
- 木村くんのピアノの先生は優しいと思いきや、見学してみたらめちゃくちゃ怖くて厳しいということが分かった。I thought that Kimura-kun's piano teacher was nice, but when I went to observe the class, I found out that she is very strict and scary.
- 家を建てるのは簡単かと思いきや、建てる前に色々土地の調査など測量などをしないといけなかったから思っていたより面倒だった。I thought building a house would be easy, but it was more trouble than I expected because I had to do things such as survey and inspect the land before building.
- 彼女たちは姉妹だと思いきや、親子だった。I thought that they were sisters, but they were mother and daughter.
Caution
A past tense phrase will always appear in (B), as it is considered to be the actual situation which has come about, or has been realized by the speaker.-
彼は日本に10年も住んでいるもんだから日本語をペラペラに話せると思いきや、少しも話せない。He had lived in Japan for 10 years, so I thought that he could speak Japanese fluently, but he can't speak a word of it. (Unnatural Japanese)
Synonyms
Examples
娘は部屋がとても静かだからきっと寝ていると思いきや、意外にも勉強していた。
I thought that my daughter was sleeping because it was very quiet, but to my surprise she was studying.
いよいよ晴れるだろうと思いきや、たちまち雨が降り出してしまった。
I thought that the weather would finally clear up, but it suddenly started raining.
だろう appears frequently before と思いきや.
うたげさんが小さいから同級生かと思いきや、驚くことに先生だった。
Because she was small (like me), I thought Utage-san was (my) classmate, but, to my surprise, she was (my) teacher.
納豆はまずそうに見えるから、間違いなくまずいと思いきや、実際は、そうではなかった。
I thought for sure that natto would be gross since it looks unappetizing, but that was not the case.
「やっぱり、今度も失敗したか...」と思いきや、見事合格だった。
Despite having thought, 'As expected, I failed again,' I passed with flying colors.
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