N2 — outside your level filter
かと思うと
かとおもうとka to omou toN2neutral
Same meaning4
the moment X happens; as soon as
All examples3
just when it looked like X — right then, the opposite happens instead
泣いているかと思うと、もうけらけら笑っている。
naite iru ka to omou to, mou kerakera waratte iru.
One minute he's crying, and the next he's cackling away. neutral
帰ってきたかと思ったら、もう出ていったよ。
kaette kita ka to omottara, mou dete itta yo.
He'd barely got home before he was out the door again. casual
社長はお戻りになったかと思うと、すぐにまたお出かけになりました。
shachou wa o modori ni natta ka to omou to, sugu ni mata o dekake ni narimashita.
The president had barely returned before he went out again. formal
How it's formed2
All forms2
たかと思ったらtakatoomottaracolloquial
味わったかと思ったら
the everyday spoken version. It's the only one that works for something you noticed happening to you, like 開けたかと思ったら空だった。
たかと思えばtakatoomoebaliterary
味わったかと思えば
ば swapped in for と — reads more literary, common in narration (笑ったかと思えば泣いていた).
Notes
request or command can come after it.