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どころか・どころではない: the difference

Meaning

Far from, Anything but

Past papers

Tested 2 times in past papers

Example

そのケーキは甘あまいどころか、酸すっぱかった。

Far from being sweet, that cake was sour.

Meaning

This is not the time for…, Far from, Out of the question

Past papers

Tested 2 times in past papers

Example

休やすみの日ひはたくさん寝ねたい。レジャーどころではない。

On my day off, I want to sleep a lot. Leisure activities are out of the question.

How to tell them apart

「~どころか」 usually sits mid-sentence: 'let alone A, not even B' or 'not A, but rather B': 「給料が上がるどころか、下がった」 (My pay didn't go up; it went down).

「~どころではない」 usually ends the sentence and says there is no room to do something in the present situation: 「忙しくてそれどころではない」 (I'm too busy for that).

All about どころか ›All about どころではない ›