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Decoded Slug: ～かと思いきや (〜ka to omoikiya)
Japanese JLPT Grammar Point
～かと思いきや (〜ka to omoikiya)
～かと思いきや (〜ka to omoikiya)
Short explanation:
Expressing unexpected outcomes; 'just when I thought', 'but'.
Formation:
Sentence + かと思いきや, (Noun/ な-Adjective + だ/ い-Adjective/ Verb (past form) + かと思いきや)
Examples:
明日は晴れるかと思いきや、まさかの雨が降った。
Ashita wa hareru ka to omoikiya, masaka no ame ga futta.
I thought it would be sunny tomorrow, but unexpectedly it rained.
彼が試験に落ちたかと思いきや、合格していた。
Kare ga shiken ni ochita ka to omoikiya, goukaku shite ita.
I thought he failed the test, but he actually passed.
このケーキは美味しそうだったかと思いきや、全然甘くなかった。
Kono keeki wa oishisou datta ka to omoikiya, zenzen amakunakatta.
I thought this cake would be delicious, but it was not sweet at all.
列車が遅れるかと思いきや、時間通りに到着した。
Ressha ga okureru ka to omoikiya, jikan doori ni touchaku shita.
I thought the train would be late, but it arrived on time.
Long explanation:
The ～かと思いきや grammar point is used to express cases where outcomes are different than what was initially thought or expected. It can be translated as 'just when I thought' or 'but' in English. Note that, it is usually used when the speaker was proven wrong by what happened right after his/her assumption.