はおろか

はおろか means "let alone": the second item is the one you'd least expect, and if the sentence holds even for that, it obviously holds for the first. It goes straight after a noun, and the second item takes も, さえ or すら. Most sentences with はおろか are negative.

The order is the reverse of English: the item that obviously fails comes first, and the surprising one second.

• × ひらがなはおろか、漢字も読めない → 漢字はおろか、ひらがなも読めない

はおろか or はもちろん

Both put the obvious item first. はおろか stresses the gap between the two and usually sounds exasperated or surprised, so it suits complaints and bad news. はもちろん is neutral and is the natural choice for a plain positive statement.

A positive sentence with はおろか does occur, when the second item is striking.

はおろか belongs to writing and formal speech. In conversation, どころか does the same job: かんじ漢字どころか、ひらがなもよめない読めない.