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よほど (yohodo) Japanese meaning: very | Kotomora
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今日きょう は よほど 疲つか れ た らしく 、 すぐ に 寝ね て しまっ た 。
He must have been very tired today; he went straight to bed.
Unless something quite unusual happens, he is never late.
Usage patterns よほどの 〈 事こと 〉 がない 限かぎ り unless something highly unusual happens
Unless something highly unusual happens, he won't be late.
よほど 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 うと 思おも ったが was on the verge of doing ~ but (held back)
I was on the verge of getting angry and leaving, but I held back.
よほど 〈 形けい 容よう 詞し 〉 のだろう must be quite ~ (expressing inference of a high degree)
He must be quite tired; he's dozing off.
よほどの 〈 人ひと 〉 でなければ unless one is quite an exceptional person
Unless you're truly exceptional, you can't pass that exam.
Kanji 余 too much, myself, surplus Related words よっぽど is a colloquial, emotionally emphatic variant of 余程, used the same way but in casual speech.
かなり means 'considerably' in a neutral way, while 余程 adds a nuance of surprise or 'more than expected'.
非常に is a formal, objective intensifier, whereas 余程 carries a subjective sense of exceeding expectations.
大分 conveys 'considerably' in a plain, measured way, lacking the surprised or judgmental nuance often found in 余程.
よほど describes an objective high degree of something, whereas さぞ conveys the speaker's emotional inference about another person's state.
Written forms よほど Usage 90%
Standard kana spelling; usually written in kana.
余よ 程ほど Usage 10%
Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used in modern writing.
Etymology Derived from 余 (yo, 'more than enough') + 程 (hodo, 'degree'). The kanji 余程 is ateji; the word is now standardly written in kana.
