や否や
Meanings
- As soon as
- No sooner than
- The moment
- the instant
About this pattern
Explanation
や否や marks that something happens immediately after another action, with a sense of the first event being instantly followed by the second. It is formal, literary, and often used in written narration or descriptive prose. It conveys a strong immediacy, similar to 'no sooner than' or 'the moment...'. It is typically attached to a verb in the dictionary form (non-past) and used to describe a rapid succession of events.
Learn in context
Example sentences
No sooner had he opened the door than he rushed inside.
No sooner had the teacher written on the board than the students started to chatter.
The door closed, and no sooner had it done so than the phone rang.
As soon as she left the house, it started to rain.
Keep studying
More N1 patterns
from ... to ...; from start to finish; up to and including
View detailsNo matter how ~, it won't change the outcome; Even if ~, the result is still unlikely; Even though ~, it doesn't matter; it's futile to ~
View detailslike; similar to; as if; the same as
View detailsto be worthy of; to be enough for; to be sufficient
View detailsextreme; extremely; unbearably; to an extreme degree
View detailsEven though; Even if; Although; Despite
View details