文法の説明

N1 レッスン 4: 15/17

と思(おも)いきや

Thought...but, When...thought that...but, Despite having thought...

使い方・接続

Verb + （か）+ と思(おも)いきや + Phrase［た］
［い］Adjective + （か）+ と思(おも)いきや + Phrase［た］
［な］Adjective + (か(1)）+ と思(おも)いきや + Phrase［た］
Noun + (か(1)）+ と思(おも)いきや + Phrase［た］

(1)（だ）

詳細

  • 使用域

    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

「と思いきや」の情報

と思(おも)いきや is an expression used in Japanese for indicating that something is not as one had thought, and will often be translated as 'despite having thought (A), (B)', or 'when I thought that (A), it was actually (B)'. と思(おも)いきや is a combination of the case marking particle と, the conjunctive form of the う-Verb 思(おも)う, 思(おも)い, the classical auxiliary verb き, which indicates past tense, and the classical binding (adverbial) particle や, which marks actual or rhetorical questions in the same way as か. Due to this, a more literal translation is 'I thought it had (A), but I guess (B)'.
Despite the origin of the phrase, in modern Japanese と思(おも)いきや is just thought of as an emphatic structure that highlights the speaker's surprise in relation to something not being as they had expected.
と思(おも)いきや may follow any word in its standard form.
  • 今日(きょう)も残業(ざんぎょう)するかと思(おも)いきや、4時(じ)になったと同時(どうじ)に上司(じょうし)が「みんな、毎日(まいにち)お疲(つか)れさん、今日(きょう)は早(はや)めに帰(かえ)って、ゆっくりしてくれ」と言(い)ってくれたから定時(ていじ)前(まえ)に帰(かえ)ることができた。
    I thought I would have to work overtime again today, but as soon as it hit 4:00, my boss said, 'Hey guys, thanks for working hard every day, go home early today and relax,' so I was able to leave before the regular time.
  • 木村(きむら)くんのピアノの先生(せんせい)は優(やさ)しいと思(おも)いきや、見学(けんがく)してみたらめちゃくちゃ怖(こわ)くて厳(きび)しいということが分(わ)かった。
    I thought that Kimura-kun's piano teacher was nice, but when I went to observe the class, I found out that she is very strict and scary.
  • 家(いえ)を建(た)てるのは簡単(かんたん)かと思(おも)いきや、建(た)てる前(まえ)に色々(いろいろ)土地(とち)の調査(ちょうさ)など測量(そくりょう)などをしないといけなかったから思(おも)っていたより面倒(めんどう)だった。
    I thought building a house would be easy, but it was more trouble than I expected because I had to do things such as survey and inspect the land before building.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)たちは姉妹(しまい)だと思(おも)いきや、親子(おやこ)だった。
    I thought that they were sisters, but they were mother and daughter.
The particle か may appear before と思(おも)いきや, but this just further emphasizes the same rhetorical question, as や itself has the same role.
Caution
A past tense phrase will always appear in (B), as it is considered to be the actual situation which has come about, or has been realized by the speaker.
  • 彼(かれ)は日本(にほん)に10年(ねん)も住(す)んでいるもんだから日本語(にほんご)をペラペラに話(はな)せると思(おも)いきや、少(すこ)しも話(はな)せない。
    He had lived in Japan for 10 years, so I thought that he could speak Japanese fluently, but he can't speak a word of it. (Unnatural Japanese)

例文

  • 娘(むすめ)は部屋(へや)がとても静(しず)かだからきっと寝(ね)ていると思(おも)いきや、意外(いがい)にも勉強(べんきょう)していた。

    I thought that my daughter was sleeping because it was very quiet, but to my surprise she was studying.

  • いよいよ晴(は)れるだろうと思(おも)いきや、たちまち雨(あめ)が降(ふ)り出(だ)してしまった。

    I thought that the weather would finally clear up, but it suddenly started raining.

    だろう appears frequently before と思いきや.

  • うたげさんが小(ちい)さいから同級生(どうきゅうせい)かと思(おも)いきや、驚(おどろ)くことに先生(せんせい)だった。

    Because she was small (like me), I thought Utage-san was (my) classmate, but, to my surprise, she was (my) teacher.

  • 納豆(なっとう)はまずそうに見(み)えるから、間違(まちが)いなくまずいと思(おも)いきや、実際(じっさい)は、そうではなかった。

    I thought for sure that natto would be gross since it looks unappetizing, but that was not the case.

  • 「やっぱり、今度(こんど)も失敗(しっぱい)したか...」と思(おも)いきや、見事(みごと)合格(ごうかく)だった。

    Despite having thought, 'As expected, I failed again,' I passed with flying colors.

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