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JLPT N3Emphasis

～ものか— As If I Ever Would!

A rhetorical question ending used to express strong denial or refusal: 'there's no way…', 'as if I would!'. The speaker asserts the opposite of what is said with emotional force. Casual/male speech uses ～もんか; softer polite speech uses ～ものですか.

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Pro lessonUNIT 96 · EMPHASIS

Structure · 形

[Verb/い-adj plain form] + ものか; [な-adj / Noun] + な + ものか

Examples · 例文

  • あんな奴に負けるものか。

    Anna yatsu ni makeru mono ka.

    As if I'd lose to a guy like that!

    負ける + ものか = rhetorical, meaning 'I absolutely won't lose'

  • こんな失礼な店、二度と来るものか。

    Konna shitsurei na mise, nido to kuru mono ka.

    There's no way I'm ever coming to such a rude shop again.

    来る + ものか = strong refusal / denial

  • 彼の言うことなんか信じるものですか。

    Kare no iu koto nanka shinjiru mono desu ka.

    As if I would believe what he says.

    信じる + ものですか = the softer, polite version of ものか

Usage notes · 注意

  • Strong emotional denial — the meaning is the OPPOSITE of the verb.
  • Casual/masculine: もんか. Polite/softer: ものですか / もんですか.
  • Intonation falls at the end; it is not a real question.

Commonly confused with

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

vsわけがない

ものか is an emotional, first-person declaration of refusal/denial; ～わけがない is a more logical 'there's no way that's true'.

vsはずがない

ものか expresses the speaker's determined will/refusal; ～はずがない objectively denies a possibility based on reason.

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