よもや
よもや
adverb
surely not; never would have thought
1.
surely not; never would have thought; by no means
Expresses strong disbelief or the assumption that something is extremely unlikely. More literary and emphatic than まさか, often followed by a negative expression or an expression of disbelief.
よもやこんなことになるとは。
I never would have thought it would come to this.
よもや負けるとは思わなかった。
I never thought we would lose.
よもや彼が犯人だったとは、誰も想像しなかった。
Nobody imagined that he could possibly be the culprit.
USAGE:
A literary adverb expressing strong disbelief or the conviction that something is nearly impossible. More formal and dramatic than まさか. Often appears in the pattern よもや～とは (never would have thought that ~) or よもや～まい (surely ~ won't happen). Gained renewed popularity through the anime Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃), where the phrase よもやよもやだ was used memorably.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- よもや～とは (never would have thought that ~)
- よもや～まい (surely ~ won't)
- よもやよもや (expressing extreme disbelief — emphatic repetition)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- まさか: no way, surely not — more colloquial and widely used
- よまさか: (nonstandard) — sometimes confused, not a real word
- 到底: by no means — used with negatives, focuses on impossibility