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> 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'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-24T17:48:49.637
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2020-07-30T00:44:26.353
2020-07-30T00:44:26.353
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question
grammar particle-や
Meaning of や in this sentence
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.
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2016-08-24T18:02:14.857
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2016-10-23T17:16:53.713
2016-10-23T17:16:53.713
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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
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-23T16:30:29.130
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answer