(で)すら
"Even": presents an extreme example to imply that the statement applies all the more to everything else. It often carries a sense of surprise or criticism.
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A written, somewhat literary way of saying "even." It appears in essays, reports and formal speech. It is often paired with negative predicates or expressions of difficulty, and it stresses how extreme or surprising the example is. It is stronger and stiffer than the everyday さえ.
Do not use すら in the conditional pattern 〜さえ〜ば; that construction works only with さえ.
Do not attach すら directly after が or を; drop the particle or use ですら instead.
Note that すら often implies criticism or disappointment, so it can sound harsh in neutral statements.
- さえN3In its 'even' sense, 「さえ」 is basically interchangeable with 「すら」 and, being neutral in tone, is common in both speech and writing. 「さえ」 also has an additive sense ('on top of that'), and its 「〜さえ〜ば」 'as long as' pattern cannot be replaced with 「すら」.
- だにN1In the 'even' meaning, 「だに」 is close to 「すら」 but more archaic, usually taking a negative and confined to set phrases like 「想像だにしない」, so the two cannot be swapped freely. 「だに」 also has a 'just ...ing is enough to' use, as in 「聞くだに恐ろしい」.
- たりともN1「たりとも」 attaches only to 「一」＋counter expressions or 「何人」 and must be followed by a negative or prohibition, stressing zero tolerance with a harsher tone, while 「すら」 attaches broadly and can appear in affirmative sentences. The two are close in meaning only in the '「一」＋counter＋negative' pattern.
- はおろかN1「はおろか」 builds the frame 「XはおろかYすら／も」, naming a demanding X first and then a basic Y, with the second item usually negative in content; 「すら」 simply flags a single extreme example and often echoes that second item, so the two cannot be interchanged.
- のみならずN2「すら」 cites an extreme example to mean 'even,' while 「のみならず」 adds scope in the sense 'not only... but also,' with the following clause often reinforced by 「も」 or 「まで」 and usable sentence-initially as 'not only that.' Both are literary, but they cannot be interchanged.
「すら」 and 「さえ」 are largely interchangeable in the 'even' sense, but 「すら」 is stiffer and more bookish while 「さえ」 is neutral and more versatile, also having an additive use and the 「〜さえ〜ば」 conditional that 「すら」 lacks. 「だに」 is more archaic and limited to set phrases like 「想像だにしない」, 「たりとも」 attaches only to 「一」＋counter or 「何人」 and must take a negative or prohibition, 「はおろか」 pairs with 「すら」 rather than swapping with it, and 「のみならず」 adds scope in the sense 'not only... but also.'
