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ことのほか (kotonohoka) Japanese meaning: exceedingly | Kotomora
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の
ほか
美うつく
しい
景色けしき
でし
た
。
It was an exceptionally beautiful view.
He was exceedingly pleased.
Usage patterns ことのほか 〈 形けい 容よう 詞し 〉 exceedingly [adjective]
This winter is exceedingly cold.
ことのほか 驚おどろ く to be unexpectedly surprised
The result was unexpectedly surprising.
ことのほか 喜よろこ ぶ to be exceedingly pleased
He was exceedingly pleased to hear the news.
Kanji 殊 particularly, especially, exceptionally 他 other, another, the others Related words 非常に is the common, neutral way to say 'extremely', while ことのほか carries a more formal, literary nuance for the same degree.
とても is the everyday, casual intensifier, whereas ことのほか is used in more formal or written contexts to express the same 'extremely' meaning.
Written forms 殊こと の 外ほか Usage 89%
Rare kanji spelling. The character 殊 means 'particularly' and 外 means 'outside', but the combination is not common in modern writing.
ことの 外ほか Usage 11%
ことの 他ほか
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage. 他 is normally read た or ほか, but here it is used for ほか. Rarely seen.
事こと のほか
Etymology Derived from こと (thing) + の (possessive particle) + ほか (other/outside), literally 'outside of the matter'. The adverbial meaning developed from the idea of being beyond the ordinary or expected.
irregular kanji usage
