Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 6: 16/17

とばかりにAs if (to say), Seeming that

ばっかり, ばっか, ばかし, and ばっかし are all fairly common casual variations of ばかり

Structure

Quote + とばかり（に）
Noun +（だ）+ とばかり（に）

Details

  • Register

    Formal

  • Rare Kanji

    許り

About とばかり（に）

とばかり is a construction that is often used to show that something is being done 'as if to say (A)', or 'seeming that (A)'. It is a combination of the case-marking particle と in its 'quotation' use, and the adverbial particle ばかり, exhibiting that something is 'basically exactly as described'. Due to this, とばかり simply indicates that while (A) is as described, it is not literally the case.

とばかり can appear after almost any word, as the と is creating a quote. に will often follow ばかり when the sentence is going on to describe what is actually happening.

とばかりに is an abbreviation of と言(い)わんばかり 'to only just not be at the point where (A) is said', which itself will still be seen quite often.

In this case, 言(い)わん is an abbreviation of 言(い)わぬ, making use of the classical auxiliary verb ぬ used for negation.

Caution

As とばかりに will be used to describe the way that something 'looks like it is about to say', it won't be used for describing the speaker themselves. However, it may occasionally be seen being used about the speaker if the sentence is in third person.

Examples

--:--

    ランナーが通(とお)り、ここぞとばかりに声援(せいえん)を送(おく)りました。

    The runner passed, and as if to say ‘Now’s the time!’, I let out a cheer.

      「おまえも黙(だま)れ」とばかりに手(て)でテーブルを叩(たた)いた。

      She slammed the table with her hand as if to say 'Silence!'.

      盗賊(とうぞく)たちが待(ま)っていたとばかりに通行人(つうこうにん)を止(と)めたのです！

      Seeming that they had been waiting, the robbers stopped the passersby!

        桜(さくら)は、今(いま)この時(とき)を待(ま)っていたとばかりに花(はな)びらを広(ひろ)げています。

        Seeming that they had been waiting for this time right now, the petals of the cherry blossoms spread.

          社長(しゃちょう)に呆(あき)れたとばかりにため息(いき)をつかれて、クビを覚悟(かくご)しました。

          Being sighed at by the president as if to say he was exasperated, I readied myself to be fired.

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              とばかり（に） – Grammar Discussion

              Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

              • casual

                casual

                The combination of information in this sentence seems confusing:

                盗賊たちが待っていたとばかりに通行人を止めたのです！
                Seeming that they had been waiting, the robbers stopped the passersby!
                Hint:
                A formal structure, implying that something is done as if to say (A). Just with (A) acting as the trigger, (B).

                “Seeming that they had been waiting”… Robbers were waiting acted as a trigger for stopping the passerby? What does that mean? The robbers thought to themselves, “hey, we are waiting (for something else) anyway, let’s stop that guy!”?

                Or is this about robbers being in the right spot at the right time as if they were waiting for this specific passerby.

              • nminer

                nminer

                Just read this sentence today. I agree the translation isn’t the best. I interpreted it as “as if they were waiting.”

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