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JLPT N3Emphasis

～ばかりか— Not Only, But Even

Means 'not only X, but even Y,' where Y is often something surprising, extreme, or beyond expectation. It adds a second, stronger element to the first. The second clause frequently includes words like も or さえ for extra emphasis. It has a slightly literary, emphatic flavor.

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Pro lessonUNIT 83 · EMPHASIS

Structure · 形

[Plain form] + ばかりか / [な-adj な／である] + ばかりか / [Noun] + ばかりか

Examples · 例文

  • 彼は英語ばかりか、フランス語も話せる。

    Kare wa eigo bakari ka, furansugo mo hanaseru.

    He can speak not only English, but even French.

    ばかりか adds French as a further, surprising ability

  • その店は高いばかりか、サービスも悪い。

    Sono mise wa takai bakari ka, saabisu mo warui.

    That shop is not only expensive, but the service is bad too.

    ばかりか stacks a second negative point on the first

  • 彼女は助けてくれないばかりか、笑っていた。

    Kanojo wa tasukete kurenai bakari ka, waratte ita.

    Not only did she not help me, she was even laughing.

    ばかりか escalates to something worse/unexpected

Usage notes · 注意

  • Register: emphatic and somewhat literary; slightly stronger than ばかりでなく.
  • The second clause often includes も/さえ for reinforcement.
  • The added element usually exceeds expectation (better OR worse).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～ばかりか is tested against.

vs～ばかりでなく

ばかりでなく is a neutral 'not only...but also'; ばかりか adds a nuance of surprise or that the second item is even more extreme.

vs～だけでなく

だけでなく is the most neutral/common 'not only'; ばかりか is more emphatic and literary.

More emphasis

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