connective N2 uncommon casualpolitewritten
それどころか — far from it
それどころか
Meaning
- far from it / on the contrary / not only that — rejects what was just said and adds something stronger in the opposite direction
Key sentence
彼は怒らなかった。それどころか、笑って許してくれた。
He wasn't angry. Far from it — he laughed and forgave me.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence-initial connector (follows a statement, often negative) | ～。それどころか、～ | 嫌いではない。それどころか、大好きだ。 |
When: Spoken and written; the second clause escalates beyond a simple denial.
Examples
薬は効かなかった。それどころか、症状は悪化した。
The medicine didn't work. On the contrary, the symptoms got worse.
迷惑どころか、それどころか大いに助かった。
Far from being a bother, it was actually a huge help.
When you can't use it
- Connects two sentences: it first denies the prior idea, then states something stronger in the opposite direction. The second clause must escalate, not merely repeat the denial.
Easily confused with
〜どころか どころか attaches within one sentence to a noun/phrase (病気どころか元気だ); それどころか is the standalone sentence-opener that picks up the previous sentence and reverses it. かえって かえって = 'on the contrary, the opposite of what you'd expect happened' (an ironic reversal of effect); それどころか escalates past a denial to a stronger opposite fact ('not only not X, but even Y').
See それどころか in real sentences
Jengo shows それどころか 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.