At a glance
～どころか means "far from A, (actually) B" or "not only A, but even B". Use it when reality is the opposite of what was expected, or goes further than expected.
[A] どころか、[B]
薬を飲んだが、熱は下がるどころか、もっと上がった。 I took medicine, but far from going down, my fever went up even more.
How to form it
どころか attaches to the plain form of verbs and い-adjectives. It attaches directly to nouns.
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | Plain form | 下がるどころか |
| い-adjective | Plain form | 涼しいどころか |
| な-adjective | Stem + な, or stem | 静かなどころか / 静かどころか |
| Noun | Noun directly | 休みどころか |
Do not put だ before どころか. It is used in both conversation and writing, and in both polite and casual speech. Politeness is shown at the end of the sentence.