Structure
Verb + ことか
［い］Adjective + ことか
［な］Adjective + な + ことか
Noun + である + ことか
Details
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Standard
About ことか
ことか is a combination of こと 'thing', and the case marking particle か, used to present a question.
In sentences with ことか, words that highlight some particular number or extent are often used, before ことか comes at the end of the statement, expressing that 'extent' as being particularly unusual, or even unbelievable (thanks to the addition of か). This is often translated simply as 'how (A)', 'what (A)', or even 'god knows (A)'. Let's look at a few examples.
Literally, ことか can be translated as 'to what particular (A) is (B)!?', as the enquiry is often not directed at anyone specifically, but instead presents itself as a question simply to emphasize its magnitude.
Caution
In modern Japanese, this expression is used primarily in written language, and has a tendency to sound either poetic, or dramatic. Because of this, it may sound unnatural in daily speech, unless the speaker is purposely being dramatic.
- どれだけお前の事を愛していたことか！それでも俺はお前に裏切られた！God knows how much I loved you! Still, you betrayed me.
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知らない人にありがとうと言われるのがどれだけ嬉しいことか。God knows how nice it feels to have a stranger thank you.
Synonyms
Examples
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これをどれだけ待っていた事か。
God knows how long I have waited for this!
文プロがあってどんなに便利な事か！
How convenient it is to have Bunpro!
君に会えてどんなに嬉しかった事か。
How happy I was after meeting you!
君に会える日を、どんなに夢見た事か。
How much I have dreamed of the day I could finally meet you!
このプロテインのなんと美味しい事か！すごく飲みやすい。
How delicious this protein is! It goes down like nothing.
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Describing a strong emotion
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ことか – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (1 in total)
testing
What does that mean? It’s also on the Bunpro page, but from a quick search, neither the information section nor the examples mention either of them at all.
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