Grammar Info
N1 Lesson 5: 17/17

そばから
as soon as, right after, even if … still

Structure
Verb［る］+ そばから + Phrase
Verb［た］+ そばから + Phrase
Structure Legend  
Details
Register Formal
使用域 硬い
側・傍
Information
  • そばから (B) is a slightly old fashioned phrase used when no matter what someone does, (B) happens as soon as (A) - often on a routine basis. Speaker usually has a negative attitude towards (B), which often ends with てしまう.
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メリーさん「夢（ゆめ）を覚（おぼ）えている？」
ゆめじさん「夢（ゆめ）なんて起（お）きたそばから忘（わす）れてしまうものだけど、夜（や）中（ちゅう）に起きてまた眠（ねむ）ると思（おも）い出（だ）す。」
Merry: "Do you remember your dreams?"
Yumeji: "Dreams are something I forget as soon as I wake up, but if I wake up in the middle of the night and go back to sleep then I remember."
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    • 自転車（じてんしゃ）を直（なお）したそばからまた壊（こわ）れてしまう。
    My bike breaks as soon as I repair it.
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    • あなたって人（ひと）は、「やるな」と言（い）ったそばからやるんだから。
    People like you are just… As soon as I told you not to do it, you still do it…
    while そばから is slightly old fashioned, 言ったそばから is still common expression. 言ったそばから is much more common than 言うそばから. In this case, あなたって人は expresses exasperation of the speaker, similar to English "How dare you".
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