美人だときくや友藏{ともぞう}もヒロシも身を乗り出した。
When? they heard that she was a beautiful women both 友藏 and ヒロシ leaned forward.
I have no idea what the や in bold is. It seems like it ought to be とき, but I've never seen や used to mean 'when'.
asked Aug 24, 2016 at 17:48
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1it conveys the sense of "in the instant that". i think it's more literary, but I'll leave it to a native speaker to give a fuller explanation.– A.EllettCommented Aug 24, 2016 at 18:00
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1I think it is mostly encountered as や否や, the meaning and grammar rule are the same.– 永劫回帰Commented Aug 24, 2016 at 19:12
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2 Answers
I think this や is closer to the phrase "as soon as" than "when". See the first definition (classified as 接助 = conjunctive particle) in this link. http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/220994/meaning/m0u/%E3%82%84/
And this usage of や is very literary. I have not ever heard that in conversation.
answered Aug 24, 2016 at 18:02
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や is short for やいなや which means "as soon as", "no sooner than".
http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/je/4173/meaning/m0u/%E5%90%A6%E3%82%84/
So the translation becomes:
美人だときくや
As soon as they heard that she was a beautiful woman
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や is short for やいなや<- No. や and やいなや can mean the same thing, but や is not short for やいなや. や, by itself, as well as the first や and the second や in やいなや , is a conjunctive particle, meaning "as soon as". dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/220994/meaning/m0u/%E3%82%84 「1⃣［接助］動詞・動詞型活用語の終止形に付く。ある動作・作用が行われると同時に、他の動作・作用が行われる意を表す。…とすぐに。…すると。『わたしの顔を見るや逃げ出した』」 Saying "や is short for やいなや" is like saying "'whether' is short for 'whether or not'," or "～か is short for ～かどうか".– chocolate ♦Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 15:12