Practice JLPT
AdvancedJLPT N1 Grammar

どころではない

Far from ~ / cannot afford to

Romaji: dokorodehanai

Meaning & usage

Cannot; be simply impossible; simply don’t/doesn’t have time; be far from ~; anything but ~; no way; far from; be out of question | A phrase indicating that an action/state is simply impossible due to an adverse situation.

Notes

Atami onsen in Shizuoka is a major onsen resort town near Tokyo

Example sentences 13

  1. A:おい、今晩、飲みに行こうか。B:それどころじゃないんだ。妻が入院したんだ。

    A: Hey, why don't we go drinking tonight? B: No way. My wife has been hospitalized.

  2. A:妻：あなた、この週末に 熱海あたみの温泉にでも行かない？ B:夫：それどころじゃないんだよ。原稿の締め切りが来週の月曜日なんだ。

    Wife: Honey, why don't we go to the hot springs in Atami this weekend? Husband: No way! The deadline for the manuscript is next Monday.

  3. このところ学生の修論指導で研究どころじゃないんだよ。

    I've been advising MA students on their theses lately and I simply don't have time to do research.

  4. ものすごい排気ガスを吸っているから、健康どころではない。

    I am breathing in all these awful exhaust fumes, so I am far from being healthy.

  5. スイカマラソンは、レース中やレース後にスイカが食べられる。でも、走り終わったら、へとへとで、とてもスイカを食べるどころではないそうだ。

    In the watermelon marathon, runners can eat watermelon during or after the race, but I hear that when they're done running they're so tired that there's no way they can eat the watermelon.

  6. 今日は非常に暑かった。もう暖かいどころではない。

    It was extremely hot today. You can't just call it warm anymore.

  7. 定年になっても暇どころではない。毎日野菜作りに精を出している。

    I have retired, but I can't say I have any free time. Every day I put all my energy into vegetable gardening.

  8. 年末なのに多忙で、海外旅行（をする）どころではなかった。

    I was so busy toward the end of the year that there was no way I could travel abroad.

  9. 毎日の生活に汲々としていて、株を買うどころではありません。

    My everyday life is so tight financially that I simply can't consider buying stocks.

  10. 津波で愛する娘を亡くしたので、悲しいどころではない。死にたい気持ちだ。

    I lost my beloved daughter in the tsunami. I'm not just sad. I feel like killing myself.

  11. 目下寝たきりの母の介護で、外出どころではないんです。

    Right now I'm taking care of my bed-ridden mother, so I simply don't have time to leave the house.

  12. 私はテニスが大好きだが、最近大怪我をしてテニスどころではない。

    I love tennis, but I sustained a severe injury recently, and playing tennis is now out of the question.

  13. 自分のことで精一杯で、人のことなど考えるどころではない。

    I'm so busy with my own things that I simply can't think of other people's matters (right now).

All N1 grammar