～どころか — Far From, Let Alone
Used to strongly negate an expectation and reveal that reality is the opposite or far beyond it. It has two shades: 'far from ~ (actually the opposite)' and 'let alone ~ (not even the smaller thing)'. It emphasizes the gap between what was assumed and what is true.
Structure
[Plain form / Noun / adj] + どころか
Examples
彼は謝るどころか、逆に怒り出した。
Kare wa ayamaru dokoro ka, gyaku ni okoridashita.
Far from apologizing, he actually got angry.
どころか shows the reality (getting angry) is the opposite of the expectation (apologizing).
漢字どころか、ひらがなも読めません。
Kanji dokoro ka, hiragana mo yomemasen.
Let alone kanji, I can't even read hiragana.
どころか dismisses the bigger item (kanji) to stress even the smaller (hiragana) is impossible.
休むどころか、週末も働いている。
Yasumu dokoro ka, shuumatsu mo hataraite iru.
Far from resting, I'm working on weekends too.
どころか contrasts the expected 'resting' with the harsher reality.
• The second clause often uses も or さえ to intensify ('not even ~'). • Carries an emotional, emphatic tone of surprise or complaint. • Register: neutral to slightly emphatic; common in conversation.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～どころか is tested against.
vs ～ばかりか
ばかりか adds more on top ('not only A but also B'), while どころか flips to the opposite of what was expected.
vs ～はもちろん
はもちろん says 'of course A, and also B (both true)', whereas どころか denies A entirely to highlight B.
More emphasis
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