日本語道場
Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2
N2
~どころか
~dokoro ka
far from; let alone
When to use it
Use ~どころか to knock down an assumption and replace it with something at the opposite extreme — the listener expects X, but reality is not just "not X," it's the reverse or something far more extreme. In reports and negotiations it is the standard way to correct an over-optimistic premise (「黒字どころか赤字」) or to signal that even a modest step is out of the question. Note it is distinct from ~どころではない ("this is no time for…"), which denies that circumstances allow X at all.
Formation
Examples
Far from being in the black, it's our largest deficit ever.
Performance isn't recovering — it's getting worse.
Far from being opposed, I got full backing.
A price cut is out of the question; we're weighing an increase.
The procedure was anything but simple — it took a full day.