How very…!: 〜ことか
Question word (どれほど・どんなに・何度) + plain form + ことか
どれほど／どんなに／何度 + plain form + ことか: “how very…!, how many…!”, an intense emotion actually experienced. Written style.
In short
〜ことか expresses a very strong emotion as an exclamation: “how worried I was!”, “how many times I thought of giving up!”. The sentence always contains a question word (どれほど, どんなに, 何度, なんと) indicating the degree. It's a rather written, somewhat literary style.
- あなたのことを、どれほど心配したことか。あなたのことを、どれほどしんぱいしたことか。You have no idea how worried I was about you!
- この日をどんなに待っていたことか。このひをどんなにまっていたことか。How I've waited for this day!
- 何度やめようと思ったことか。なんどやめようとおもったことか。How many times I thought of giving up!
The basics
Word for word: “to what extent is it a thing that…?”. The question expects no answer: it says the degree is immense, beyond measure. It's English “you have no idea how…”, “how many…!”, “how very…!”.
You have no idea how worried I was about you!
- noun
- other
- verb
- grammatical form
- あの時の先生の言葉に、どれほど助けられたことか。あのときのせんせいのことばに、どれほどたすけられたことか。How much the teacher's words that day helped me!
How to form it
A question word of degree, then the clause in the plain form, then ことか. After a な-adjective, use な; after a noun, である.
| Question word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| どれほど・どんなに | to what extent | どんなにうれしかったことか |
| 何度・何回 | how many times | 何度やめようと思ったことか |
| なんと | how | なんと美しいことか |
| な-adjective | keep な | どれほど大切なことか |
- 京都の秋は、なんと美しいことか。きょうとのあきは、なんとうつくしいことか。How beautiful autumn is in Kyoto!
- 合格の知らせを聞いて、どんなにうれしかったことか。ごうかくのしらせをきいて、どんなにうれしかったことか。When I heard I'd passed — you can't imagine how happy I was!
ことか or だろう?
どんなに〜だろう also expresses a strong emotion, but often an imagined one: どんなにうれしいだろう, “how happy he must be!” or “how happy I'd be!”. 〜ことか is about an emotion actually experienced, and sounds more written, more solemn.
| Form | Nuance | Example |
|---|---|---|
| どんなに〜だろう | imagined, assumed emotion | 合格したら、どんなにうれしいだろう |
| どんなに〜ことか | experienced emotion, exclamation | どんなにうれしかったことか |
- 合格したら、どんなにうれしいだろう。ごうかくしたら、どんなにうれしいだろう。If I pass, how happy I'll be!
Don't confuse ことか and ものか
They look alike, but are almost opposites. ものか rejects (“no way”). ことか amplifies (“how very…!”). The question word of degree is the sure sign of ことか.
- あんな所、二度と行くものか。あんなところ、にどといくものか。That place? I'll never go back. (refusal, ものか)
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the question word: 「心配したことか」 on its own is incomplete; you need どれほど, どんなに or 何度.
- Mixing it up with ものか: ことか expresses intensity, ものか refusal.
- Using it in light conversation: it's a written, moving, almost literary style.
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 N3 point is on the Uji Line (Feelings) of the Kyoto lines.