どころかfar from; not just; let alone
A is what was said or expected. どころか throws it out and goes on to B, the real picture: the reverse of A, or a long way past it.
far from
Far from falling, sales were up thirty percent on the year before.
not just
It wasn't just ten minutes. We were kept waiting for two whole hours.
let alone
He can't even write hiragana, let alone kanji.
How to form it
Noun + どころか、B
赤字どころか. No だ.
After a verb or an adjective
Plain form + どころか、B
減るどころか, 安いどころか. A な-adjective drops its だ too, or takes な: 簡単どころか, 簡単などころか. A verb usually stays in the dictionary form even when the sentence is in the past.
どころではない or どころか?
I'm too busy to even think about a trip.
どころではない ends the sentence. The situation leaves no room for a trip. Casual: どころじゃない.
It isn't just cool. It's almost cold.
どころか goes on to a second half. "Cool" is thrown out, and the second half says how things really are.
Not A but B: far from, not just
B is the reverse of A, or the same thing only more. Japanese says both the same way; English picks "far from" for a reverse and "not just" for more.
Far from apologizing, he insisted that he was not responsible.
Far from being cheap, that shop was the most expensive in the neighborhood.
It wasn't just a hundred people who came to the venue. There were over a thousand.
Not A, and not even B: let alone
The sentence ends in a negative, and the negative goes for A too. B is the smaller or easier thing, usually with も or さえ. English turns the order around.
I don't even have a thousand yen on me, let alone ten thousand.
I'm so busy I don't even have time for a walk, let alone a trip.
それどころか
それ is what was just said, and a new sentence overturns it or goes one further: "far from it", "more than that", "worse than that".
He didn't help. Worse than that, he kept getting in the way.
Close neighbours
どころではないN2
Ends the sentence: things are too pressing for something. それどころじゃない is "I can't think about that now".
The trains have stopped, so forget about the movie.
ばかりかN2
"Not only A but even B". A stays true and B is added to it. どころか pushes A aside, as wrong or as far too small.
He can speak not only English but even Chinese.
まして・ましてやN1
It opens a statement of its own: "let alone". Mostly written. What goes without saying comes last, after まして; with どころか it comes first.
He can't even read hiragana, let alone kanji.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
雨は
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
彼は
Choose an answer to see why.
3Which one fits?
薬を
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
Even after taking this medicine, the symptoms got worse rather than better.
It was anything but quiet. The building work next door was so loud that we couldn't even hold a conversation.
The task was anything but simple. It was complicated enough to take even an expert a full day.
Far from running a deficit this year, the company recorded its highest profit ever.
Rather than improving under the new system, the situation became even worse.