Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 17/20

どころか

Far from, Anything but

Structure Legend

Structure

Verb(1) + どころか
[い]Adjective + どころか
[な]Adjective + + どころか
Noun + どころか

(1)Verb[ない]

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

Rare Kanji

About どころか

どころか is a combination of the noun ところ 'place', and the sentence ending particle か. The change from ところ to どころ is a consistent sound change that is seen regularly in sentences that use (ところ) negatively.
どころか may be translated as 'far from', 'let alone' or 'anything but'. It strongly negates any statement before it, while also emphasizing what comes after it.
どころか may be paired with the attributive form of any other word. However, this is not a strict rule, as it can also be seen with the 語幹(ごかん) stem form of な-Adjectives, and directly attached to nouns.
  • このカレーは(あま)どころか(から)かった。
    Far from being sweet, this curry was spicy.
  • 北海道(ほっかいどう)(さむ)どころか(あつ)かった。
    Far from being cold, Hokkaido was hot.
  • 昨日(きのう)仕事(しごと)(らく)どころか、めちゃくちゃ大変(たいへん)だったよ。
    Far from being easy, work yesterday was hectic.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)(ちゅう)ハイどころかビールも()ない。
    Let alone Chuhai, she doesn't even drink beer.
Sentences that use どころか must always have a part (B) that emphasizes some type of far more important information (in the speaker's opinion).
Fun Fact
As か simply transforms どころ into either a question, or a statement of doubt, the literal translation of どころか is similar to 'it's not even remotely (A)' as a statement, or 'do you honestly think it's (A)!?', when asking a direct question.
  • そんなにゆっくりしているどころか
    This is not the time to be even remotely that relaxed!
  • (おれ)やるどころか?そんなことやる(おとうと)しかいないだろ!
    Do you honestly think I would do such a thing? My brother is the only person who would do that.

Examples

  • (かれ)(やす)どころか全力(ぜんりょく)()()った。

    Far from taking a break, he gave everything he had.

  • そのケーキ(あま)どころか()っぱかった。

    Far from being sweet, that cake was sour.

  • (かれ)はヨーロッパまで()どころか玄関(げんかん)から一歩(いっぽ)()ていない。

    Far from going to Europe, he hasn't even taken a step outside.

  • 健康(けんこう)いいものでも()べすぎたら健康(けんこう)になるどころか病気(びょうき)になります

    Eating in excess even if it's healthy food is not good for you. Far from that, it will make you ill!

  • こんな勉強(べんきょう)しているのに、成績(せいせき)()なるどころか(わる)くなっている。

    Despite studying so much, far from getting better, my grades got worse.

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