far from; let alone

どころか denies an expectation and states the opposite or something more extreme (far from cheap, it's expensive). Attach it to a plain-form verb/adjective or a bare noun. It strongly corrects an assumption.

Examples

• 楽らくになるどころか、ますます忙いそがしくなった。

  Raku ni naru dokoro ka, masumasu isogashiku natta.

  Far from getting easier, it got busier and busier.

• 漢字かんじどころか、ひらがなも読よめない。

  Kanji dokoro ka, hiragana mo yomenai.

  Forget kanji, he can't even read hiragana.

Vocabulary in these examples

• なる to become
• ますます increasingly, more and more
• 忙しい busy
• 漢字 kanji; Chinese character
• ひらがな hiragana

Related patterns · Contrast and concession

• 〜反面 on the other hand; while
• 〜一方で while; on the other hand
• 〜わりに considering; for (despite expectation)
• 〜にしては for; considering it's
• 〜からといって just because... doesn't mean