が早いかno sooner … than
One thing happens and the next comes so fast you couldn't say which was first. It belongs to written storytelling: something to read, not to say.
No sooner had he finished reading the letter than he tore it into tiny pieces.
How to form it
Verb in the dictionary form + が早いか
聞く → 聞くが早いか, though the story is in the past. The た-form turns up too and means the same: 聞いたが早いか.
- Before it
- Something over in a moment: 聞く, 見る, 鳴る, 置く, 読み終える.
- After it
- What happened right then, often what someone was quick to do: 飛び出した, 駆け寄った. Never a request or a plan.
- Said about
- The two halves can be about different people or things.
- Where you'll meet it
- Novels and other written storytelling. Its twin や否や is the commoner of the two.
In use
No sooner had the alarm sounded than the passengers ran for the exit all at once.
No sooner had the child seen their mother than they ran up to her in tears.
No sooner had she heard the signal than she dashed onto the stage.
The た-form this time. Nothing else changes.
が早いか or なり?
No sooner had the company president taken his seat than he pointed out a flaw in the documents.
Written. The point is the timing: seated, and at once.
As soon as the company president took his seat, he pointed out a flaw in the documents.
The point is how abrupt he was: no greeting first, straight to the fault. People say this one aloud too.
Close neighbours
や・や否やN1
"The moment" in written storytelling and news. The two halves can be about different people or things. や alone is shorter and stiffer.
The moment the train arrived at the station, the waiting passengers all boarded at once.
なりN1
Both halves are about one person, and what they do next is abrupt. Heard in speech as well as read.
The moment the child had his shoes off, he dashed upstairs.
そばからN1
Usually not one event but every time: something is done, and at once it is undone or outrun. Said in conversation too.
I forget new words as fast as I learn them.
たとたん（に）N3
The everyday one. The very moment one thing was done, something else happened, suddenly and not by your choice.
The moment I sat down, the phone rang.
Check yourself
1Which ending fits?
店の
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which would you say to a friend?
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
No sooner had the athlete heard the starting gun than he burst forward.
No sooner had the door opened than the waiting dog dashed into the garden.
No sooner had he put down the receiver than he let out a deep sigh.