尚更(なおさら)

Usage

尚更(なおさら) says that a fact already true becomes *more* true once some further condition is added. It needs that earlier condition to lean on — either stated in the same sentence or clear from context — so it rarely opens a conversation. It sits directly before the part of the clause it intensifies.

Common patterns

• AならBは尚更(なおさら)だ: if A, then B all the more
• 尚更(なおさら)〜ない: even less likely to ~
• 尚更(なおさら)のこと: all the more reason
• ましてや〜は尚更(なおさら)だ: let alone ~, which is more so still

Writing

Usually written in kana as なおさら. The kanji spelling 尚更(なおさら) is the more formal choice and is common in writing.

Similar words

• ますます: increasingly — describes a trend continuing, with no conditional step
• 一層(いっそう): all the more — close in meaning but formal, and usable without a stated condition
• 尚更(なおさら) differs from both in requiring a prior fact that it builds on.