As for (exasperated): 〜ときたら
Noun + ときたら、（criticism）
Noun + ときたら: “and as for him, honestly…”, a topic introduced in order to complain about it. Spoken and casual; for admiration, it's 〜といったら.
In short
〜ときたら puts a topic forward in order to complain about it: “and as for him, honestly…”. It's a fed-up version of は, reserved for reproaches, annoyance or self-mockery, usually about people close to you or everyday things. Casual spoken register.
- うちの息子ときたら、毎日ゲームばかりで少しも勉強しない。うちのむすこときたら、まいにちげーむばかりですこしもべんきょうしない。My son, honestly — all he does is play video games, and he never studies.
- この町のバスときたら、時刻表どおりに来たためしがない。このまちのばすときたら、じこくひょうどおりにきたためしがない。The buses in this town, honestly, have never once arrived on schedule.
- 私ときたら、また傘を電車に置いてきてしまった。わたしときたら、またかさをでんしゃにおいてきてしまった。And me, what a scatterbrain — I've left my umbrella on the train again.
The basics
〜ときたら sets up a topic, like は, but shows its hand straight away: what follows will be a criticism, a complaint or a dig. You hear it from a mother talking about her children, an employee talking about their boss, or someone making fun of themselves — rather like English “Honestly, my son…” or “Don't get me started on…”.
The second half describes annoying behaviour or a state of affairs, often with intensifiers: 〜ばかり, 少しも〜ない, ためしがない, 〜てしまう.
My son, honestly — all he does is play video games, and he never studies.
- noun
- particle
- other
- verb
- うちの父ときたら、テレビのリモコンを一日に何回もなくす。うちのちちときたら、てれびのりもこんをいちにちになんかいもなくす。My father, it's unbelievable — he loses the TV remote several times a day.
How to form it
It attaches directly to a noun: a person, a group, an object, a service. The form ときては also exists, slightly more written. Finally, A ときたら B is sometimes used to say “with A, it has to be B” (an obvious pairing), a rarer use with no criticism.
| Construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + ときたら、criticism | うちの夫ときたら、〜 | my husband, honestly… |
| Noun + ときては、criticism | この暑さときては、〜 | with this heat, really… |
| 私ときたら、〜 | 私ときたら、また〜 | and me, what an idiot, again… |
| A ときたら B (association) | すしときたら日本酒だ | with sushi, it has to be sake |
- この暑さときては、外に出る気にもならない。このあつさときては、そとにでるきにもならない。With heat like this, you don't even feel like going out.
- 夏の夜ときたら、冷たいビールに限る。なつのよるときたら、つめたいびーるにかぎる。On a summer evening, nothing beats an ice-cold beer. (association)
ときたら, は, といったら, に至っては
は is neutral. 〜といったら marks intense emotion, often admiration or surprise (その美しさといったら…): it can be positive, which ときたら almost never is. 〜に至っては singles out the most extreme case in a list (“and as for X, it's even worse”).
| Expression | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜は | neutral | 息子は勉強しない |
| 〜ときたら | annoyance, reproach | 息子ときたら勉強しない |
| 〜といったら | intense emotion, often positive | 景色の美しさといったら |
| 〜に至っては | the extreme case in a series | 弟に至っては学校にも行かない |
- 初めて富士山を見たときの感動といったら、今でも忘れられない。はじめてふじさんをみたときのかんどうといったら、いまでもわすれられない。The thrill I felt when I first saw Mount Fuji — I'll never forget it.
- 兄も姉も料理をしないが、弟に至っては湯も沸かせない。あにもあねもりょうりをしないが、おとうとにいたってはゆもわかせない。Neither my older brother nor my older sister cooks, but my younger brother can't even boil water.
Common mistakes
- Using it to pay a compliment: “うちの息子ときたら、優しくて” rings false. For admiration, use 〜といったら.
- Talking like this about a superior in front of them, or in a formal text: it's casual complaining language.
- Thinking it's a condition (“if it comes to…”) because of きたら: here it's only a topic marker.
8 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 Akita Line (Literature and poetry) of the Shinkansen.