Too: ～すぎる
A very important verb that takes on a more grammatical function in compound expressions is the intransitive verb 過ぎる meaning “to pass/exceed.” From these meanings, the sense of “being too…” developed inside compounds. First, we will examine its definitions as an independent verb, then return our focus onto how it behaves in compounds upon having properly understood its core meaning.
The Meanings of 過ぎる
The core meaning of the intransitive verb 過ぎる is describing going from one place/position, which is treated as a standard reference point, onto somewhere further out.
In the physical sense of a person or thing “passing through/by,” you will find the verb used in the pattern X (agent) が Y (location = medium) を過ぎる. Now, this particle を is the transitional marker を and should not be confused with its direct object marking function.
1. 列車が今、新宿駅を過ぎたところだ。
The train has just now passed Shinjuku Station.
2. 台風が島を過ぎてから２日経ってもまだ片づけに追われている人がいる。
Even after two days since the typhoon passed through the island, there are people still pressed with clean-up efforts.
3. 太郎は病院の前を過ぎて一つ目の角を左折した。
Taro passed the front of the hospital and took a left turn at the first corner.
Building on this notion, the location=medium may also be temporal as in a point time chosen as that standard reference point. The consequence of this passing of time may either indicate that a certain time period has expired, that time has elapsed (to some outpoint), and this difference must be discerned by whether the time point being referenced describes an instance or has duration to it. This small difference will greatly affect particle usage, especially when to use が・を. Compare and contrast the following.
4. テイラー君は１３時を過ぎても起きないので、私が電話で起こしました。
I woke Taylor-kun up over the phone since he wouldn’t wake up past 1 PM.
5. 私たちのフライトはほぼ1時間遅れ、真夜中を過ぎました。
Our flight was late about an hour, going past midnight.
6. 蒲田に引っ越してから５年が過ぎました。
Five years have passed since moving to Kamata.
7. 時の1過ぎるのは早いものだ。
Time sure flies by.
8. マンションは、耐用年数を過ぎると、もう住めないのですか？
When your apartment building has passed its maintenance lifespan, are you no longer able to live in it?
9. うちのマンションは、いよいよ８０年の耐用年数が過ぎました。
My apartment building has at last passed its maintenance lifespan of 80 years.
Whereas in Ex. 8 耐用年数 is treated as a deadline that has been surpassed, in Ex. 9, 耐用年数 is described as the time period which has elapsed/concluded. So, while it seems as though が・を are interchangeable here, the grammatical implication is not the same between them.
Whenever the height/peak of something has passed and the thing in question begins to fall in decline, how that transitional period is perceived determines whether that reference point is marked by が or を. By choosing が, the speaker merely states the elapsing of said time period, whereas by choosing を, the speaker emphasizes how that point in time was a deadline that has since passed.
10. 食材は旬が過ぎると、手に入りにくくなってしまうので、楽しむなら、今のうちですよ。
When a food item has gone out of season, it becomes harder to get a hold of, so if you’re going to enjoy it, now’s the chance.
11. クレソンは旬を過ぎると、硬くなることが特徴です。
When watercress goes out of season, it characteristically hardens up.
Aside from temporal reference points, it is also possible that it is an amount, degree, or standard that is being “passed.”
12. 納豆菌は熱に弱いので、４０度を過ぎると死滅する。
The bacteria in natto is weak to heat, they die off when the temperature exceeds 40℃.
13. あの老人は100歳を過ぎてもバスで通勤していました。
That old man was commuting by bus even past the age of 100.
When it is a “limit” that is surpassed (goes too far), a negative effect is implied. Because 過ぎる is indicating that something has gone too far, it is paired with the particle が in this scenario.
14. 冗談にしては度が過ぎるよ。
Even for a joke, that goes too far.
15. 私の友達の旦那さんも冗談が過ぎる人ですよ。
My friend’s husband is also someone who takes jokes too far.
16. ちょっと口が過ぎますよ。
You’re going a bit too overboard.
～すぎる
It is the this last extension of 過ぎる’s semantic domain that brings us to the true focus of this lesson: how ～すぎる（～過ぎる）indicates a state/action that is “too” much, having surpassed a reasonable limit. In doing so, it may follow the 連用形 of verbs, the stem of adjectives/adjectival nouns, or even attach to nouns.
| Part of Speech | 基本形 | ～すぎる |
| Verb | 食べる To eat | 食べすぎる To eat too much |
| Adjective | 小さい To be small | 小さすぎる To be too small |
| Adjectival Noun | 便利だ To be convenient | 便利すぎる To be too convenient |
| Noun | 金持ち Rich person | 金持ちすぎる Too rich of a person |
It is most common to see 過ぎる written in Hiragana when used in such compounds, but it is also not uncommon to see it still written in Kanji.
17. お酒を飲みすぎて、二日酔いしている。
I drank too much sake, and I have a hangover.
18. これって小さすぎますけど、もうちょっと大きいのはありますか？
This is too small. Do you have a bigger one?
19. 彼氏の実家がお金持ちすぎることで悩んでいます。
I’m struggling with how my boyfriend’s family are too rich.
20. 暑すぎて窓ガラスが突然割れた。
It was too hot, and the window glass suddenly cracked.
21. 寝室が寒すぎる。
The bedroom is too cold.
22. そのカメラは高すぎるね。
Isn’t that camera too expensive?
23. 明日では遅すぎるでしょう。
Tomorrow will probably be too late.
24. 道路の横断にはいくら注意しても、しすぎることはない。
You can never be too careful when crossing the street.
25 いくら好きでも、食べすぎると、体に悪いです。
No matter how much you like it, eating too much is bad for your health.
26. すこし早く眼が覚めすぎた。
I woke up a little too early.
27. この物理学の問題は難しすぎて、理解するのは無理です。
This physics problem is too difficult, and understanding it is useless.
28. コンピューターの画面に近すぎないことが大切だ。
It’s important to not be too close to the computer screen.
29. 考え事をしながら歩いていたら、自分の家の前を通り過ぎてしまった。
Lost in thought, I walked past my house.
Semantic Quirks behind ～すぎる
Though ～すぎる appears to function as a supplementary verb ending in this capacity, the nature as to how a state or action is being “too” much may be qualified in context, especially with adverbs, indicating a level of autonomy from the first element itself. Consider how 入りすぎる is interpreted in the following.
30. 砂糖がたくさん入りすぎたかな。
I guess it had too much sugar in it.
31. 今回の旅行はちょっと高いお店に入りすぎたかもしれない。
I might’ve gone into somewhat pricey stores too much on this trip.
32. 風呂に長く入りすぎたな、一旦寝よう。
I’ve been in the bath longer (than I should’ve), so I’ll be off to bed for now.
33a. 横綱は土俵にゆっくり入りすぎた。
The yokozuna stepped into the wrestling ring too slowly.
These four sentences prove that one must look at the sentence level to properly understand ～すぎる. Although supplementary verb endings like ～ている may have more than one function permitted the verb’s semantics allows it, in which case further context clues would specify the correct meaning, ～すぎる has its own meaning at play – indicating excessive amount in Ex. 30, excessive frequency in Ex. 31, and in the case of Exs. 32-33, indicating the manner marked by the adverb is too excessive. In the latter cases, it is arguable that this is how ～すぎる may in fact still affect adverbs provided there is an intervening predicate to establish a manner’s context. In all four examples, ～すぎる’s meaning is clear and directly related to its independent verb functionality.
Let’s throw in another factor. What if it is clear enough from ～すぎる that the action in question is excessive in some way, but when the adverb is taken out of the sentence, does the sentence still stand? For Exs. 34-35, the answer is: yes. Drop that adverb, and the excessive nature of the action is still understood. However, exactly how would be left to interpretation.
34. 友達をあまり長く弁護し過ぎたかもしれない。
I might’ve been defending my friend for far too long.
35. 自己防衛もあまり強く働き過ぎると感情を悪化させる原因になります。
When you take self-defense way too intensely, it becomes a worsening factor for your emotions.
Ironically, though, if the degree and/or manner to which the action is too excessive cannot be ascertained at all, we find that with verbs – especially in which how they play out like 入る are dependent on context – that the use of ～すぎる may result in an ungrammatical sentence.
33b. 横綱は土俵に入りすぎた。X
The yokozuna went too far into the wrestling ring. ?
Sumo wrestlers must enter the 土俵, and so 入る cannot be portrayed as an excessive action, nor is there anything intrinsic about 横綱は土俵に入る that could be construed as being unwanted.
With adjectives and adjectival nouns, on the contrary, which are all about how things are, we find that so long as excessiveness can be substantiated and viewed a a bad thing, ～すぎる could be paired with any qualification which exhibits gradation. Consequently, ～すぎる itself does not have the same range of interpretations as it does with verbs – being limited to “excessive degree.”
When an adjective describes a positive situation, such as is the case with 綺麗だ or 好きだ, there is a new tendency in which the negative implication is weakened, causing ～すぎる to function similarly to how an exaggerated “so” might work in English. The lack of a negative implication is frowned upon by most natives and Japanese educators alike, and it is unclear whether this innovation will stick around for the long haul.
36. マジ彼氏のことが好きすぎる！△
I seriously like my boyfriend too much! △
Now, as may have been obvious from the sheer lack of examples earlier, the affinity between nouns and ～すぎる is incredibly low, so much so that it can be said that attaching it to generic nouns in the broadest sense is not even grammatical. For a “Noun + ～すぎる” combination to be grammatical, the noun itself must have a quality that intrinsically possesses a gradation. Quite like some verbs but almost to the point of being a prerequisite, modification of the noun to make that gradation evident is commonplace.
37. いい人すぎる！
(You)’re too nice of a person!
38. 珍品過ぎるわ。
It’s far too rare.
39. ついさっき見た光景すぎる。
The scene is far too much like what I just saw.
The Placement of ～ない
While ～すぎる itself conjugates no differently than any other verbal expression, it is both logical for excessiveness to be be described as “not being so” or for the negative to be described as being excessive.
39. 食べ過ぎないでくださいね。
Please don’t overeat.
40. 食べなすぎると、逆に体重は減らなくなる。
If you eat too little, you’ll conversely not lose weight.
Oddly enough, whenever ～すぎる attaches to 無い, whether as a standalone adjective or as an auxiliary adjective – ～ない – to create the negative form of adjectives, an epenthetic さ is inserted between it and the base of 無い, producing 無さすぎる.
41. 本当に語彙力が無さすぎる・・・
I really lack too much in vocab…
42. 自分の顔がかわいくなさすぎるのをなんとかしたい。
I want to do something about my own face being too so not cute.
It is also possible to see さ inserted for the auxiliary adjective ～ない. Though this is considered highly colloquial2, it is a testament to how native speakers view the adjective ない and the auxiliary adjective as the same morpheme.
43. 彼は何もできなすぎる。 △3
He can’t do anything (way too much). ?
Morphological Oddities
Putting aside the epenthetic さ found with 無い, there are a few other morphological oddities that can be observed with ～すぎる.
～すぎ
It is also possible to create nouns from compounds made with ～すぎる by reducing it to its 連用形. This can be observed in Exs. 44-45.
44. 飲みすぎで吐いた可能性がもっとも高いと思います。
I think the highest possibility is that (you) threw up from overdrinking.
45. 食べ過ぎで胃が痛い。
My stomach hurts from overeating.
However, it is also possible to see ～すぎ used as the predicate, in which case it is followed by the copula. This is a feature of colloquial conversation, and when employed in polite speech, and provides a very familial tone.
46. ちょっと誤字多すぎじゃない？
Aren’t there are bit too many typos?
47. いつも食べ過ぎだよ。
You always eat too much!
48a. 暑すぎですね。
48b. 暑すぎますね。
It’s too hot, huh.
～に過ぎる
Though not indicative of typical speech, it is possible to see ～過ぎる after the に-連用形 of adjectival nouns in the written language, with only a minor effect of providing a more formal tone. This rendition is often seen with adjectival nouns created with the suffix ～的.
49. 先生は今から思えばいささか楽観的にすぎるかもしれない。
Now that I look back now, Sensei might just be a little too optimistic.
50. 与党の解釈は一方的にすぎると言えなくはない。
You can’t not say that the ruling party’s explanation is too one-sided.
Note that this should not be confused with Noun ＋～に過ぎる, which was overlooked previously. In this scenario, the case particle に is used as a standard marker, and together, the verb 過ぎる better translates as “to outrival/surpass.” This usage, along with its negative rendition ～に過ぎない (merely/no more than), are treated as higher level grammar points, when what is really is at play is the difference between using に over を4.
51. 私としては、これに過ぎる喜びはありません。
As for me, there is no joy greater than this.
52. 投票率は６％に過ぎなかった。
Voter turnout wasn’t even more than 6%.
～でありすぎる
What is less likely to occur than even the に‐連用形 of adjectival nouns being paired with 過ぎる is the 連用形 of である – であり – being used instead. This is not so much so formal in tone than being how ～すぎる is paired with the copula. The effect of which draws attention to being stuck in said condition.
53. 彼女の不幸は、皮肉にも、彼女があまりにも魅力的でありすぎたことなのであった。
Her misfortune, ironically, might have been that she was far too attractive.
54. 一年昔のあなたは、幸福過ぎて、思いのままでありすぎて、僕なんかには眩しいようでした。
You, a year ago, were far too joyous and did as you pleased that you were blinding to me.
From 『火のついた踵』by 宮本百合子.
- It must be noted that が・の are largely interchangeable within subordinate clauses modifying a noun. ↩︎
- Epenthetic さ is believed to follow the root of the adjective ない /na-/, which also occurs with the auxiliary ～そうだ. Epenthetic さ only occurs with the adjectives よい and ない, and while epenthetic さ is not present for よい with すぎる, the phenomenon is thought to be triggered by the roots of both adjectives being monosyllabic. This “monosyllabic” status has been used to refute the grammaticality of epenthetic さ for the auxiliary iteration ～ない, as the “root” of the phrase would no longer be monosyllabic. However, this ignores the morpheme boundaries at play. It is fairer to say that epenthetic さ merely began with ない as a standalone adjective, as this meaning predates its auxiliary form by centuries. It is only natural for the morphology of its newer auxiliary form to match that of the original. ↩︎
- The unnaturalness of Ex. 43 does not pertain to the presence of an epenthetic さ or not, but rather, it is because of how redundant it is. Though the connotation of ～すぎる is still negative, its meaning is downplayed to that of an emphatic marker given how the speaker has already indicated the person in question is capable of nothing. With that already being as extreme as one can underperform, ～すぎる’s literal role becomes meaningless. ↩︎
- While the particle を as a direct object marker is limited to transitive verbs, the concept of what defines an “object,” of course, is not limited to direct objects. The ways in which に also acts an object marker are both varied and different from how を does so, and in this construct, に marks what it follows as the object of comparison with that noun being what sets the standard that is immediately surpassed by the other entity thanks to 過ぎる. ↩︎