What does どんなに～ことか mean? Japanese grammar N3

Forming it

How to use it

An exclamation about the great degree of an emotion or state. This is an EXCLAMATION, not a question.

• 「どんなに～ことか」 = how much...! 「合格の知らせを聞いて、どんなにうれしかったことか」.
• Even though it ends in 「か」, it does NOT ask anyone anything — the speaker is expressing their own emotion, usually about something past, so the た form is common.
• 「どんなに」 can be replaced with 「どれほど」「いかに」 (more formal). Ending with 「ことでしょう」 sounds softer.

Examples

• 合格(ごうかく)の知(し)らせを聞(き)いて、どんなにうれしかったことか。

  How happy I was when I heard the news that I had passed.

• 連絡(れんらく)がない間(ま)、家族(かぞく)がどんなに心配(しんぱい)したことか。

  How worried my family was during the time there was no word.

Keep in mind

• This is an exclamatory sentence; no answer is expected.
• Mainly expresses the feelings of the speaker or the person involved.

Common mistakes

• Wrongどんなに疲(つか)れたことか、教(おし)えてください。

  Please tell me how tired I was.

  Correctどんなに疲(つか)れたことか、言葉(ことば)では表(あらわ)せません。

  This is an exclamation, not a question, so it doesn't go with 「教えてください」.

• Wrongどんなにうれしいことかでした。

  How happy I was.

  Correctどんなにうれしかったことか。

  The past tense is on the adjective/verb before 「ことか」; don't add 「でした」.

Exam tips

• 「どんなに～ことか」 = how much...! (an EXCLAMATION, not a question).

Related patterns

• どれほど～ことか
• ～ことでしょう
• ～ものだ