が早いかNo sooner had ... than ...
が早いか dramatically presents one completed event as happening virtually the instant another occurred. It is used mainly in written narrative when the interval feels strikingly short.
Meaning and effect
The first clause supplies the trigger event, and the second reports what followed almost instantly. The construction does more than give a neutral order of events: it makes the speed of the transition vivid, much like “no sooner had A happened than B happened.” Both events are presented as facts in a completed narrative.
Immediate sequences
The person performing both actions may be the same, but this is not required.
彼は手紙を読み終えるが早いか、細かく破り捨てた。
No sooner had he finished reading the letter than he tore it into tiny pieces.
AnalyzeThe same person finishes reading and immediately tears up the letter.
稲妻が走るが早いか、激しい雷鳴が響き渡った。
No sooner had lightning flashed than a violent peal of thunder rang out.
AnalyzeThe second event is a natural occurrence, showing that the construction is not restricted to intentional actions.
彼女は合図を聞いたが早いか、舞台へ駆け出した。
No sooner had she heard the signal than she dashed onto the stage.
AnalyzeThis uses the attested past-form variant. Prefer the nonpast form as your default when producing the construction yourself.
Nearby immediate-sequence patterns
や否や is also literary and means that B followed A immediately, but it attaches consistently to the nonpast verb form and does not contain the explicit image of competing with speed. The frame か ... ないかのうちに instead emphasizes that A was barely complete—or barely confirmable as complete—when B occurred.
More examples
警報が鳴るが早いか、乗客たちは一斉に出口へ走った。
No sooner had the alarm sounded than the passengers ran for the exit all at once.
Analyze選手は号砲を聞くが早いか、勢いよく飛び出した。
No sooner had the athlete heard the starting gun than he burst forward.
Analyze子どもは母親の姿を見るが早いか、泣きながら駆け寄った。
No sooner had the child seen their mother than they ran up to her in tears.
Analyze栓を抜くが早いか、泡が瓶から噴き出した。
No sooner had the stopper been removed than foam shot out of the bottle.
Analyze彼は受話器を置くが早いか、深いため息をついた。
No sooner had he put down the receiver than he let out a deep sigh.
Analyze扉が開いたが早いか、待っていた犬が庭へ飛び出した。
No sooner had the door opened than the waiting dog dashed into the garden.
AnalyzeThis is another example of the less central past-form variant.