You use this when something happens that you did not expect. It is a surprise. You thought one thing, but the opposite happened.
Clause [plain form] + かと思いきやPrimary
You use this when something happens that you did not expect. It is a surprise. You thought one thing, but the opposite happened.
試合に勝ったかと思いきや、最後の数秒で逆転負けしてしまった。
Just when I thought we had won the match, we suffered a comeback loss in the final few seconds.
ようやく晴れたかと思いきや、またすぐに雨が降り出した。
Just when I thought it had finally cleared up, it started raining again right away.
これでプロジェクトは完了かと思いきや、クライアントから追加の要求があった。
Just when I thought the project was complete, the client came back with additional requests.
もう誰も来ないかと思いきや、パーティーの終わりに田中さんがひょっこり現れた。
Just when I thought nobody else was coming, Tanaka-san popped in right at the end of the party.
楽勝かと思いきやの苦戦で、チームは辛うじて勝利した。
In what turned out to be a tough fight contrary to expectations of an easy win, the team barely managed to secure victory.
This phrase shows you were very surprised. You thought one thing would happen. But then the opposite happened very quickly. It's like a sudden plot twist.
This is different from "~mono o" (ものを). "~mono o" shows you are sad or upset that something you wanted did not happen. This is also different from "~ni mo kakawarazu" (にもかかわらず). That means "even though." It shows something happened that was unexpected or illogical. But "~ka to omoiki ya" shows *your* surprise when things go the opposite way you thought.
Use this when you tell a story. It makes people think one thing will happen. Then you show them something completely different. It creates a surprise in your story.
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