GRAMMAR DETAIL
が早いか
Indicates that the second action followed so quickly that it was almost impossible to tell whether the first had finished.
Examples
合図を聞くが早いか、選手たちは一斉に走り出した。
As soon as they heard the signal, the athletes all started running at once.
Words used
ベルが鳴るが早いか、子どもたちが教室を出た。
As soon as the bell rang, the children left the classroom.
Words used
扉が開くが早いか、客たちは店内へ入った。
As soon as the doors opened, the customers entered the store.
Words used
Study notes
1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning
- Structure: Follow a dictionary-form verb with
が早いかto describe a scene in which one event is followed almost immediately by another. - Basic usage:
合図を聞くが早いか、選手たちは一斉に走り出した。depicts the swift transition from hearing the signal to the athletes starting to run.
2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions
- Dictionary form in a past scene
- Although
聞くin聞くが早いかis in the dictionary form, it can describe a past scene together with走り出した. Do not read the first verb alone as locating the event in the future.
- Although
- Descriptive difference from てから
ベルが鳴ってから出たstates the order of leaving after the bell.ベルが鳴るが早いか出たvividly emphasizes the rapid action with almost no interval.