Skip to content
JLPT N2Emphasis

～ものか／もんか— As If I Ever Would!

Sentence-final ものか (casually もんか) is a strong rhetorical denial expressing 'there's no way I would…' or 'absolutely not'. It conveys the speaker's determined refusal or firm rejection, often with emotion or defiance. It is emphatic and comes across as quite forceful.

Grammar path · 練習

Practice this in the path

A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 57 · EMPHASIS

Structure · 形

[Verb/i-adj plain form; na-adj + な; Noun + な] + ものか／もんか

Examples · 例文

  • あんな店、二度と行くものか。

    Anna mise, nido to iku mono ka.

    As if I'd ever go to that place again!

    行くものか strongly denies any intention of going back.

  • 彼の言うことなんか、信じるもんか。

    Kare no iu koto nanka, shinjiru mon ka.

    There's no way I'd believe what he says!

    もんか (casual ものか) forcefully rejects the idea of believing him.

  • こんなことで負けるものか。

    Konna koto de makeru mono ka.

    I'm not about to lose over something like this!

    負けるものか expresses defiant determination not to lose.

Usage notes · 注意

  • もんか is the more casual, emotional spoken form.
  • Male speech may use ものか; a softer feminine variant is ものですか.
  • Register: casual/emphatic; too blunt for polite situations.

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／もんか is tested against.

vs～わけがない

わけがない objectively states 'there's no way (it's true)', while ものか is the speaker's emotional, willful refusal ('I absolutely won't').

vs～はずがない

はずがない denies a likelihood based on reasoning, whereas ものか expresses a determined personal rejection with strong feeling.

More emphasis

Study Japanese grammar on LenGaki

Everything on this page, ready to study

  • 7,788 JLPT vocabulary words, N5 through N1, with readings and audio (N5 free)
  • 2,057 kanji with on'yomi, kun'yomi and stroke-order practice
  • 445 grammar points with examples and commonly-confused comparisons
  • Full-length N5 and N4 mock exams, timed, with real listening audio (N5 sets 1 and 2 free)