connective N1 uncommon casualwritten
ときたら — when it comes to ~
ときたら
Meaning
- when it comes to ~ / as for ~ — singles out a topic to complain or marvel about, usually with a critical, exasperated tone
Key sentence
うちの息子ときたら、一日中ゲームばかりだ。
As for my son, he plays games all day long.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (a familiar person or thing) | N + ときたら |
Examples
この店のサービスときたら、ひどいものだ。
The service at this place — it's just awful.
最近の天気ときたら、変わりやすくて困る。
This recent weather, honestly — it keeps changing and it's a pain.
Easily confused with
となると となると shifts to 'when it comes to (a hypothetical situation), then ~'. ときたら picks a familiar person or thing as a topic to grumble about. ともなると ともなると raises a situation to a notable level ('once it gets to ~'). ときたら is purely an exasperated topic-marker. 〜は は neutrally marks a topic. ときたら marks one with built-in complaint or astonishment.
Notes
- Almost always negative or critical; casual. ったら is a lighter spoken cousin.
See ときたら in real sentences
Jengo shows ときたら 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 Basic Japanese Grammar.