modality N2 uncommon casualpolitewritten
どんなに〜(こと)か — how very ~!
どんなに〜(こと)か ・ どんなにことか
Builds on どんなに
Meaning
- how very ~! / how ~ (you can't imagine) — どんなに sets up an extreme degree, and ことか makes it an emotional exclamation
Key sentence
母の言葉にどんなに励まされたことか。
How much my mother's words encouraged me!
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| どんなに + plain predicate + ことか / だろう | どんなに + V / Aい(plain) + ことか | どんなに悲しかったことか |
Examples
あなたに会いたくて、どんなに泣いたことか。
How much I cried, longing to see you!
合格の知らせをどんなに喜んだことか。
How overjoyed I was at the news that I'd passed!
Easily confused with
ことか This is the どんなに-anchored case of the general ことか exclamation; ことか is the underlying 'how ~!' frame that also takes どれほど, 何度, etc. どれほど〜(こと)か Near-identical 'how very ~!'; どれほど tilts toward measurable extent, どんなに toward manner/degree — usually swappable. どんなに〜ても Same どんなに, different job: どんなに〜ても is concessive 'no matter how ~,' a condition; どんなに〜ことか is an exclamation of degree, not a condition.
See どんなに〜(こと)か in real sentences
Jengo shows どんなに〜(こと)か the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.