Structure
Noun (A) + はおろか + Noun (B) + さえ(1)
(1)も、まで、すら
Details
Register
Formal
About はおろか
は疎か is an expression that works similarly to はもちろん 'of course (A), but (B)' in Japanese. 疎か itself is a な-Adjective that means 'negligent', or 'alienation'. However, this use of 疎か is not seen much in modern Japanese, and the word will mainly be used in set expressions where it doesn't behave exactly as a な-Adjective usually would. Despite this, the meaning of 'alienation', or 'completely removed from' is kept in はおろか, as it simply means 'completely putting aside (A), (B)'.
Common translations include 'let alone (A), (B)', and 'it's needless to say that (A), when (B)'. (B) and (A) will usually be things that fall into the same category, where (B) is considered the far more obvious of the two. Due to this obviousness, (B) will often be immediately followed by the adverbial particle さえ. This shows that (B) is the noteworthy minimum extent.
Alternatively, さえ may be exchanged with other adverbial particles that fill a similar purpose such a も, すら, or まで. In most cases, は疎か sentences tend to have a fairly negative nuance.
Examples
--:--
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
「ルームメイトはオムライスは疎か、おにぎりさえ作れない。」
'My roommate cannot even make onigiri, let alone omurice.'
掃除機をかけることは疎か、彼はゴミ拾いさえしない。
Let alone turning on the vacuum cleaner, he won’t even pick up the trash.
パスタは疎かお米さえ食べるのをやめていたら痩せました。
Let alone pasta, when I stopped eating even rice, I lost weight.
貴重品は疎か、身につけていた服まで奪われてしまった。
Not to mention my valuables, even the clothes off my back were stolen.
今月の生活は疎か、今日でさえ生きていけるか分かりません。
Much less living this month, I am not really even sure if I can live today.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
はおろか
JapaneseTest4You
Grammar - はおろか Meaning
LearnJapaneseDaily
Addition
Imabi
Offline
Try N1
Page 44
Shin Kanzen Master N1 Bunpou
Page 17
Sou Matome Bunpou N1
Page 126
A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar
Page 694
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
はおろか – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (2 in total)
wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV
The description for this grammar point says:
But the kanji used to spell おろか is 疎, not 愚. The latter kanji has the meaning “foolish.” The spelling 疎か has the meaning, “negligent, neglectful,” etc. Is this perhaps a typo?
Edit:
Actually, it looks like 疎か is in fact the right spelling, but as related above, it doesn’t mean foolish.
carstenosu
Is this grammar point the only time that 疎か is pronounced this way? Wanikani has 疎か as a level 56 word but its おろそか instead of おろか.
Got questions about はおろか? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion