Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 17/20

どころか

Far from, Anything but

Structure

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

(1)Verb［ない］

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

Rare Kanji

所

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 所(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.
  • このカレーは甘(あま)いどころか、辛(から)かった。
    Far from being sweet, this curry was spicy.
  • 北海道(ほっかいどう)は寒(さむ)いどころか、暑(あつ)かった。
    Far from being cold, Hokkaido was hot.
  • 昨日(きのう)の仕事(しごと)は楽(らく)などころか、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)は酎(ちゅう)ハイどころかビールも飲(の)まない。
    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!
  • 俺(おれ)がやるどころか？そんなことをやるのは弟(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

  • 彼(かれ)は休(やす)むどころか、全力(ぜんりょく)を出(だ)し切(き)った。

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

  • そのケーキは甘(あま)いどころか、酸(す)っぱかった。

    Far from being sweet, that cake was sour.

  • 彼(かれ)はヨーロッパまで行(い)くどころか、玄関(げんかん)から一歩(いっぽ)も出(で)ていない。

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

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

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

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

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

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