As if to say: 〜とばかりに
普通形・命令形 + とばかりに
Quotation + とばかりに: “as if to say…”. The narrator attributes a thought to someone based on their attitude. For other people, in writing and narratives.
In short
〜とばかりに describes the attitude of someone who, without saying anything, seems to be thinking or shouting a sentence: 待ってましたとばかりに (as if to say “at last!”), 今がチャンスとばかりに (thinking now's the moment). Before とばかりに goes that thought, attributed to the other person, in direct speech. It's a narrative construction, very common in stories and the press.
- 客が来ると、犬は待ってましたとばかりに飛びついた。きゃくがくると、いぬはまってましたとばかりにとびついた。When the guest arrived, the dog leapt on him as if to say, “At last!”
- 相手のミスを見て、今がチャンスとばかりに攻め込んだ。あいてのみすをみて、いまがちゃんすとばかりにせめこんだ。Seeing their opponents' mistake, they went on the attack, seizing their chance.
- 彼女は、もう話すことはないとばかりに電話を切った。かのじょは、もうはなすことはないとばかりにでんわをきった。She hung up, as if to say she had nothing more to say.
The basics
と is the quotation particle, ばかりに means “almost, as if”. So 〜とばかりに is “as though saying: …”. The narrator puts into words what someone's attitude reveals — like English “as if to say…”.
The quoted sentence wasn't actually spoken: it's the intention attributed to the other person. If the person really spoke, you simply write 〜と言って.
The dog leapt up, as if to say, “At last!”
- noun
- other
- particle
- grammatical form
- verb
- 子どもたちは、待ってましたとばかりにケーキに手を伸ばした。こどもたちは、まってましたとばかりにけーきにてをのばした。The children reached for the cake as if they'd been waiting for nothing else.
- 部長は、話は終わりだとばかりに立ち上がった。ぶちょうは、はなしはおわりだとばかりにたちあがった。The director stood up, as if to signal that the discussion was over.
How to form it
Before とばかりに, put a short sentence in direct speech, as you imagine it in the person's head: an imperative, an exclamation, a judgement, an intention. Before a noun, you say とばかりの.
| Type of quotation | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| imperative | 出ていけとばかりに | as if to say “get out!” |
| exclamation | 待ってましたとばかりに | as if to say “at last!” |
| judgement | 今がチャンスとばかりに | thinking now's the moment |
| fixed expression | ここぞとばかりに | thinking “it's now or never” |
| before a noun | 文句があるかとばかりの顔 | a face that seems to say “got a problem?” |
- 母は、早く寝なさいとばかりに部屋の電気を消した。ははは、はやくねなさいとばかりにへやのでんきをけした。My mother switched off the bedroom light, as if to say, “Bedtime!”
- 野党はここぞとばかりに政府を攻撃した。やとうはここぞとばかりにせいふをこうげきした。The opposition seized the opportunity to attack the government.
とばかりに, んばかりに, かのように
〜んばかりに (N1) starts from a verb and says “all but doing”: 泣かんばかりに, almost in tears. 〜とばかりに starts from a quotation and says “as if to say”. The two meet in 〜と言わんばかりに: 帰れと言わんばかりに ≈ 帰れとばかりに.
〜かのように (N2) is broader: “as if”, for any comparison (何もなかったかのように). とばかりに is reserved for a thought you make speak.
- 彼は何もなかったかのように笑っていた。かれはなにもなかったかのようにわらっていた。He was laughing as if nothing had happened.
- 彼女は泣かんばかりに謝った。かのじょはなかんばかりにあやまった。She apologised, almost in tears.
Common mistakes
- Using it indiscriminately about yourself: the construction describes what an attitude reveals from outside. In the first person, keep it for fixed narrative formulas (私はここぞとばかりに質問した).
- Thinking the quoted sentence was actually said: 出ていけとばかりに means nobody said those words.
- Confusing it with 〜ばかりに (N2) “simply because”, which announces a regret: 油断したばかりに負けた.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N1 point is on the Jōetsu Line (The land and the environment) of the Shinkansen.