Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 7: 11/17

(おろ)Let alone, Much less, Needless to say, Not to mention, Not only but also

Structure

Noun (A) + おろか + Noun (B) + さえ(1)

(1)まですら

Details

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About はおろか

(おろ) is an expression that works similarly to はもちろん 'of course (A), but (B)' in Japanese. (おろ)か itself is a な-Adjective that means 'negligent', or 'alienation'. However, this use of (おろ)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, (おろ) sentences tend to have a fairly negative nuance.

Examples

--:--

    「ルームメイトはオムライス(おろ)、おにぎりさえ(つく)れない。」

    'My roommate cannot even make onigiri, let alone omurice.'

    掃除機(そうじき)をかけること(おろ)(かれ)はゴミ(ひろ)いさえしない。

    Let alone turning on the vacuum cleaner, he won’t even pick up the trash.

      パスタ(おろ)(こめ)さえ()べるのをやめていたら()せました。

      Let alone pasta, when I stopped eating even rice, I lost weight.

        貴重品(きちょうひん)(おろ)()につけていた(ふく)まで(うば)われてしまった。

        Not to mention my valuables, even the clothes off my back were stolen.

          今月(こんげつ)生活(せいかつ)(おろ)今日(きょう)でさえ()きていけるか()かりません。

          Much less living this month, I am not really even sure if I can live today.

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              はおろか – Grammar Discussion

              Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

              • wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV

                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

                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.

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