Meaning & usage
んばかり(に) expresses that a person looks or behaves as if on the verge of an action, often with strong feeling, and covers both almost doing something and acting as if to say something, as in 言わんばかりに. It attaches to the nai-stem of a verb, the form left after removing ない from the nai-form, as in 泣かんばかりに or 怒らんばかりに, followed by に, の, or だ. It is literary and emphatic, and it describes a strong impression rather than a completed act, so the verge action did not actually occur.
Example sentences 8
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彼は賛成だと言わんばかりにうなずいた。
He nodded as much as to say that he agreed.
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彼女は不安で気も狂わんばかりだった。
Her anxiety almost drove her wild.
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あの少年たちは若さがあふれんばかりだ。
Those boys are in the first flush of youth.
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私は泣かんばかりに彼に頼んだ。
I begged him, almost in tears.
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母は怒らんばかりに私を見た。
My mother looked at me as if about to get angry.
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子どもたちは踊らんばかりに喜んだ。
The children were so happy they looked ready to dance.
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先生は飛び出さんばかりに立ち上がった。
The teacher stood up as if about to rush out.
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彼女は叫ばんばかりに名前を呼んだ。
She called out the name, almost screaming.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 3 past exam questions.
