と思いきや - Grammar Discussion

thought…but
when…thought that…but
despite having thought…

Structure

  • Verb + (か) + と思いきや + Phrase[past]
  • い-Adj + (か) + と思いきや + Phrase[past]
  • な-Adj + (だ) / (か) + と思いきや + Phrase[past]
  • Noun + (だ) / (か) + と思いきや + Phrase[past]

[Noun/な-Adj + だか思いきや is generally not used. Either か or だ (or neither) is used

[Aと思いきやB is used to emphasize the speaker’s surprise that contrary to expected result A, B is actually the case]

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