はおろかlet alone
A はおろか、B も〜ない says A is out of the question, and even B, something smaller and more basic, fails too. Written and emphatic: things are worse than you'd think.
He can't even read hiragana, let alone kanji.
How to form it
Noun + はおろか、 noun + も／さえ／すら + negative
The は is the particle, said "wa". A verb takes こと first: 走ることはおろか.
- After it
- Usually a negative: can't, doesn't have, didn't.
- Where you'll meet it
- Essays, newspapers, novels, exam papers. Out loud people say どころか.
In use
This room doesn't even have a chair, let alone a desk.
I'm so busy that I can't even take a walk around the neighborhood, let alone travel abroad.
I've hurt my leg and can't even walk, let alone run.
The bigger thing comes first
With a negative, A is the bigger thing and B the smaller: the surprise is that even the small one fails. English turns the order around: "not even B, let alone A".
Sounds odd: 彼は
He can't even read kanji, let alone hiragana.
The wrong way round. Kanji is the harder one, so it goes first.
Without a negative it runs the other way, and B is the one further out: "not just A but even B". Less common, but you will meet it in newspapers and publicity.
That author is widely known not just at home but even overseas.
はおろか or どころか?
My grandfather doesn't even have a cell phone, let alone a smartphone.
What people say. どころか throws out "a smartphone" as far too much to expect.
My grandfather doesn't even have a cell phone, let alone a smartphone.
The same in writing: stiffer, and dismayed.
Close neighbours
どころかN2
Its other job is "far from": B is the reverse of A. はおろか can't do that.
Far from falling, sales were up thirty percent on the year before.
はもちろんN3
"A, of course, and B too": A goes without saying. Everyday and calm, with no dismay in it.
Tanaka can speak English, of course, and Chinese as well.
まして・ましてやN1
It opens a statement of its own, and what goes without saying comes last, as in English "let alone".
He can't even read hiragana, let alone kanji.
Check yourself
1Which sentence sounds natural?
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
彼は
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
This おろか means "needless to say". It isn't 愚か, foolish.
More sentences
Because of the typhoon, even the trains weren't running, let alone the planes.
He won't even try to read a short article, let alone a specialist book.
He didn't even hand in a memo, let alone a report.