Grammar › Emphasis & Exclusivity
いわんや〜をや — “let alone, still less”
A classical, dramatic way to say that if something modest is already true, an extreme case is even more obviously so
いわんや (from 言わんや, roughly “need one even say...”) sets up a modest fact, then the sentence closes with 〜をや to emphasize that an even more extreme case obviously follows — “if that's true for X, then how much more so for Y — let alone Y.” It's classical, dramatic, and mostly seen in formal writing or rhetorical speech.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Modest fact + いわんや + extreme case + をや | 大人でも難しい。いわんや子供をや — It's hard even for adults. How much more so for children. |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 健康な人でも疲れる仕事だ。いわんや病人をや。 | けんこうなひとでもつかれるしごとだ。いわんやびょうにんをや。 kenkounahitodemotsukarerushigotoda。iwanyabyouninwoya。 | It's exhausting work even for a healthy person — let alone someone who's ill. |
| プロでも失敗する。いわんや初心者をや。 | プロでもしっぱいする。いわんやしょしんしゃをや。 purodemoshippaisuru。iwanyashoshinshawoya。 | Even professionals fail at this. How much more so for beginners. |
| 平時でも難しい。いわんや戦時をや。 | へいじでもむずかしい。いわんやせんじをや。 heijidemomuzukashii。iwanyasenjiwoya。 | It's difficult even in peacetime — let alone in wartime. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
いわんや〜をや is a fixed classical pair — をや doesn't work alone, and いわんや always needs a preceding, more modest fact to build its escalating comparison from.