んばかり and とばかりに

Table of Contents

This page explains んばかり and とばかり, expressions that mean “As if to..”

んばかりに – As if to (Verbs)
とばかりに – As if to say../と言わんばかりに

んばかり

As if to…/Almost
ない form verb: ない→ん + ばかり

んばかり is an expression meaning “As if to..” or “almost”.
んばかり literally means “Only not doing…”
It is used for an (extreme) action that strongly seemed like it was going to happen.
The situation should be somewhat abnormal or extreme.

More or less a variant of そう, but verbs only.

Verb that seemed like it was going to happen + んばかりに

This pattern may appear as んばかりだ (Sentence end)、んばかりに (modifies a verb)、or んばかりの (Modifies a noun)

といわんばかりに is a very common expression using this grammar. It means “Doing everything but saying”. と言わんばかりに may also connect to nouns (See below).

Examples

野生の猪みたいに家の中を壊さんばかりに走り回る (Source)
Ran around the house like a wild boar as if to break everything.
任せろと言わんばかりの顔をしていた
He made a face that said “leave it to me”. (As if to say)
歩道には溢れんばかりの人だかりができている (Weblio)
The temple path had a crowd so large it seemed like it would overflow.
彼女は喜びのあまり(に)跳び上がらんばかりだった (Weblio)
She looked like she was going to jump up from being so happy.

とばかりに

As if to say/と言わんばかりに
Unspoken Phrase + とばかりに

とばかりに is the abbreviated version of と言わんばかりに.
とばかりに, like といわんばかりに must be used with unsaid statements.

「」 may be dropped.
に may also be dropped (replace with a comma)

Examples

任せろとばかりの顔をしていた
He made a face that said “leave it to me”. (As if to say)
「帰りたい」とばかりにむすっとした
Acted annoyed as if to say “I want to go home”.
「もうだめだ」とばかりに諦めた
Gave up as if saying its already too late.