ときたらas for …, honestly
You bring up someone or something you know well, then grumble about them: "my boss, honestly…". Spoken, and people do say it.
Our section chief, honestly. Right before the meeting he tells us to redo all the materials.
Our cat, honestly. The moment I start work, she climbs onto the keyboard.
How to form it
Noun + ときたら、+ the grumble
Straight after the noun, with no は. The grumble often ends in んだから.
- Before it
- Someone or something you live or work with: うちの子, うちの上司, あいつ, a machine that lets you down. Or a group: 最近の若者.
- After it
- What they are always like. Not a request.
- Tone
- Exasperated. About family or a pet, often fond. Men and women say it alike, adults more than teenagers.
- Where you'll meet it
- Conversation, and dialogue in novels and dramas. Not formal writing.
ときたら or ときている?
Alike to look at. ときたら starts a grumble; ときている finishes a description.
ときたらN1This page
After a person or a thing: "…, honestly".
My son, honestly. He oversleeps every morning and doesn't do his homework either.
ときているN1
After the last fact, good or bad: "and on top of that, …". What comes next is then no surprise.
My son can't get up in the morning and, on top of that, doesn't do his homework. No wonder his teacher tells him off.
In use
Our printer, I swear. It jams on exactly the days I'm in a hurry.
My brother, honestly. However many times I tell him, he leaves his socks lying on the floor.
Young people these days, honestly. They barely even say hello.
A grumble follows, not news
English "speaking of" and "when it comes to" are neutral. ときたら isn't: what follows is your verdict on how they always are.
Not said: 田中さん
(Speaking of Tanaka, I hear he is getting married next month.)
田中さんといえば、来月結婚するそうです.
Close neighbours
ったらN2
The same sigh after a name, fonder, and it sounds feminine.
Honestly, Misaki's forgotten her wallet again.
といったらN2
An outcry at how extreme a quality is. It follows the quality (美しさ, 暑さ), not the person.
The beauty of the sunrise from the summit was beyond words.
といえばN3
The neutral "speaking of": what a word brings to mind.
Speaking of travel, I'm planning to go to Kyoto next month.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
山田さん
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
うちの
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
A rarer use turns up in novels: wonder at how extreme something is, more often といったら.
The breakfast at that inn. It was so good that I wanted to get up early every morning.
More sentences
This old air conditioner, I swear. It gives up on the hottest day of the year.