Noun + ときたら
〜tokitara
JLPT N1 Very formal, literary
Formation
Noun + ときたら
Expresses strong feelings about a topic; 'speaking of', 'when it comes to'.
When to use
Formal, literary, often exasperated - "when it comes to X (with strong feelings)".
Explanation
Noun + ときたら emphasizes strong feelings - often frustration, admiration, or surprise - about that noun. It can translate as 'when it comes to...', 'speaking of...', or 'honestly, about...'.
Example sentences
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When it comes to sushi, he can't eat anything.
Sushi tokitara, kare wa nanimo taberarenai.
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When it comes to math problems, she's always struggling.
Suugaku no mondai tokitara, kanojo wa itsumo komatte iru.
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Speaking of that shop's hamburgers, they're really delicious.
Ano mise no hanbaagaa tokitara, hontou ni oishii.
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Speaking of his usual attitude, it's truly problematic.
Kare no itsumo no taido tokitara, hontou ni komatta mono da.
Speaking Of (When It Comes To)
Corpus examples (7)
スペイン語の書き言葉は、ほんのいくらかわかるが、スペイン語の話し言葉ときたら、ちんぷんかんぷんだ。
I can understand written Spanish just a little, but spoken Spanish is Greek to me.
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It's a crime the way he treats his children.
あの喜劇役者のジョークときたら、どれもこれも古くて、以前に聞いたことのあるものばかりだ。
That comic's jokes are all old hat and we've heard them before.
会社のクリスマスパーティーでは全員がタラフク食べたが、特にローストビーフときたらすごかった。
We all pigged out at the company Christmas party, especially on the roast beef.
うちの上司ときたら、朝令暮改なんだから、仕事がちっとも進まないよ。
When it comes to my supervisor, he's very inconsistent, so we never get any work done.
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We won hands down, because the other players were weak.
うちのバカ息子ときたら、大学を卒業しても就職しないでパチンコばかりしている。
You know what my idiot son's doing? Even now he's graduated from university he spends all his time playing pachinko instead of getting a job.