〜そばから (~soba kara) — no sooner done than undone (again and again)
Do it, it's undone; do it again, undone again — the never-ending chore.
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
When to use it
- If you have lived in a snowy part of Japan, you know this: while you're still clearing the snow in front of your door, it piles up again behind you.
- In Japanese: 「雪かきをするそばから、また雪が積もっていく」.
Meaning
- 「そば」means 'right beside' — the work is undone right next to where you just did it.
- It is about something that repeats — done, undone, done again, undone again.
- So it usually carries a grumble, a sense of frustration: the salary comes in and it's gone; you learn a word and you forget it.
How to attach
- Verb dictionary form, た-form or 「〜ている」+ 「そばから」(するそばから・入ったそばから・しているそばから)
- Often followed by 「また」「次々に」「〜てしまう」.
Versus what you know
The other forms in this lesson (が早いか・や否や・なり) are about a single event; 「そばから」is about something that repeats.
Watch out
- It is not used for something that happened only once.
- No request or wish follows it — it simply describes an ongoing headache.
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
雪かきをするそばから、また雪が積もっていく。
ゆきかきをするそばから、またゆきがつもっていく。
No sooner do I clear the snow than it piles up again.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 雪かきをする = to clear snow → attach 「そばから」 → then, with 「また」, the opposite happens: 雪が積もっていく (piles up again) — a hassle that keeps repeating.
給料が入ったそばから、家賃や電話代で消えていく。
きゅうりょうがはいったそばから、やちんやでんわだいできえていく。
No sooner does my pay come in than it vanishes on rent and phone bills (every month).
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 入る = (money) to come in → た-form: 入った → attach 「そばから」 → then the opposite: 消えていく (keeps running out) — a complaint that repeats every month.
床を掃除しているそばから、犬が泥だらけの足で入ってくる。
ゆかをそうじしているそばから、いぬがどろだらけのあしではいってくる。
I'm still cleaning the floor and the dog is already coming in with muddy paws.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 掃除する = to clean → 〜ている: 掃除している (I'm in the middle of it) → attach 「そばから」 → then the opposite: 犬が泥だらけの足で入ってくる — it gets dirty while you're still cleaning.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
「名前を聞い＿そばから忘れてしまう。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint: Before そばから: dictionary form, た-form or 〜ている.
た-form + そばから: 聞いたそばから = no sooner heard than (forgotten).
In which sentence is 「そばから」unnatural?
💡 Hint: Again and again, or just once?
そばから is only for things that keep repeating. For a single event, say 「家を出たとたん」.
「書類は何度直しても、直し＿また新しいミスが見つかる。」— which is most natural?
💡 Hint: 「何度〜ても」— a headache that keeps coming back.
A repeated 'done, undone' → たそばから. とたん is for a single event; なり and や否や also take only the dictionary form.
Your score: /3