まして・
If it is hard even for adults, it is harder still for a child, and まして opens the statement that says so. Where that statement rules something out, English has "let alone" or "still less"; otherwise, "all the more".
let alone
It is hard even for adults, let alone for a child.
all the more
This place is crowded even on weekdays. On a holiday, all the more so.
How to form it
A も／でも／さえ〜。 まして B は〜。
After a period, or part-way through one sentence: A でも〜のだから、まして B は〜. English can stop at "let alone for a child"; Japanese goes on to finish the statement. ましてや is the same with more force.
- Before it
- A case with も, でも, さえ or すら, "even": the one where you would least expect it.
- After it
- Often はずがない or わけがない, "couldn't possibly", or なおさらだ, "all the more so".
- Where you'll meet it
- Essays, editorials, speeches, novels, and anyone arguing a point. In everyday talk people often say なおさら: 子どもならなおさら無理だ.
In use
Even Japanese people get keigo wrong, so of course it is hard for foreigners.
Even the experts disagree. A layman like me couldn't possibly know.
You can't even keep your own room tidy, so living on your own is out of the question.
ましてや is said aloud too, often with なんて.
What goes without saying comes last
English "let alone" works the same way. はおろか and どころか turn it around.
He can't even read hiragana, let alone kanji.
Kanji goes without saying. It comes last, in a statement of its own.
He can't even read hiragana, let alone kanji.
With はおろか, kanji comes first.
Close neighbours
はおろかN1
Written and dismayed, inside one sentence. It follows a noun.
This room doesn't even have a chair, let alone a desk.
どころかN2
What people say for the same thing, inside one sentence. Its other job is "far from".
I don't even have a thousand yen on me, let alone ten thousand.
なおさらN2
"All the more", without まして.
Phoning in Japanese makes me nervous. If it's a work call, even more so.
にもましてN1
After a noun, a comparison: "even more than".
This morning's train was even more crowded than usual.
Check yourself
1Which one makes sense?
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
先生にも
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
まして comes from 増す, "to increase": "more so". The same word is in にもまして.
After a verb stem, まして is something else: the て-form of ます, in very polite speech, as in 遅くなりまして、申し訳ございません.
More sentences
I can't tell even my parents. I could hardly tell an outsider.
The heat is hard even on healthy people. For someone who is ill, all the more so.
I don't even know my neighbors' faces, let alone their names.