adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten
むしろ — rather / if anything
むしろ
Meaning
- rather / if anything / sooner ~ — having weighed two options, picks the second as the more fitting one
Key sentence
彼は親切というより、むしろお節介だ。
He's not so much kind as, rather, meddlesome.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb, before the favoured option (often after 〜より / 〜ではなく) | (〜より) むしろ 〜 | 賛成というより、むしろ反対だ |
Examples
手伝ってもらうと、むしろ手間が増える。
Having them help, if anything, just makes more work.
失敗は悪いことではなく、むしろ成長のチャンスだ。
Failure isn't a bad thing — rather, it's a chance to grow.
Easily confused with
Notes
- Usually set up by a preceding 〜より(は) or 〜ではなく that names the option being passed over, so むしろ can mark the one chosen instead.
See むしろ in real sentences
Jengo shows むしろ 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 Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.