As if with 〜んばかり
Grammar: Appearance » 〜んばかり
〜んばかり has a meaning of “at any moment, seems will do (verb)”.
Follows the ない stem of a verb. In the case of する, it becomes せん.
English counterparts are “as if” and “as though”.
Further Reading
- 〜んばかり｜日本語能力試験 JLPT N１ (edewakaru.com)
Examples
As if to say try and catch me 〜んばかり
Kei and Chinatsu watch as their cousin, Makoto, chases a pheasant back and forth across the field. During a break in the chase, Makoto explains her fascination with the bird.
- 真琴:
- 「常に届きそうで届かない距離をキープしてて」
- “Constantly seeming like you can reach and keeping a distance you can't...”
- 「捕まえてみろよと言わんばかりの目で見てくるんです」
- “It's been looking with eyes as if to say, try and catch me!”