as soon as, no sooner than

Advanced

25-30 min

rare

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Explanation

Indicates immediate action following another action.

[Verb dictionary form] + が早いか

ベルが鳴るが早いか、教室を出た。

Beru ga naru ga hayai ka, kyoushitsu wo deta.

As soon as the bell rang, he left the classroom.

家に帰るが早いか、寝てしまった。

Ie ni kaeru ga hayai ka, nete shimatta.

No sooner did I get home than I fell asleep.

Literary expression for immediate action.

～や否や

as soon as, the moment

～ならいざ知らず

~ might be one thing, but; leaving ~ aside

～てやまない

earnestly wish/hope, never stop ~ing

～をものともせずに

not being daunted by ~, in spite of ~

～んがため(に)

in order to ~, for the purpose of ~ (formal/literary)

Used in narrative descriptions.

JLPTBooks Editorial Team

Japanese Language Education Specialists

Last updated: Jan 2

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