Too: ～すぎる
～すぎる
過ぎる means “to pass” and is used both transitively and intransitively. It may be used in basically any situation that relates to someone or something passing by. ～過ぎる shows something “is too…”or someone is doing something “too much”. When used with adjectives, you drop the く or に in the 連用形 altogether. Likewise, with 形容動詞, you don’t use the copula.
| Verb | 食べる ＋ すぎる → 食べすぎる |
| 形容詞 | 小さい ＋ すぎる → 小さすぎる |
| 形容動詞 | 簡単 + すぎる → 簡単すぎる |
漢字 Note: This is usually written in ひらがな when used as an ending.
1. 酒を飲みすぎて、二日酔いがある。
I drank too much sake, and I have a hangover.
2. 小さすぎる。大きいのがある？
This is too small. Do you have a bigger one?
3. 食べ過ぎないでくださいね。
Please don’t overeat.
4. 真夜中を過ぎる。
To pass through midnight.
漢字 Note: Be careful to not confuse this 中 with the suffix ちゅう・じゅう. It turns out that 夜中, which is read as やちゅう, means “at night”, but it’s a 書き言葉.
5. あんた、頭がよすぎるよ。(Casual; potentially rude)
You’re too smart!
6. この問題は難しすぎる。
This question is too difficult.
7. そのカメラは高すぎるね。
Isn’t that camera too high?
8. 明日では遅すぎるでしょう。
Tomorrow will probably be too late.
9. 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.
10. 君は彼女に期待をかけすぎる。
You expect too much of her.
11. 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.
12. 彼はやりすぎたよ。
He went too far.
13. 時間が過ぎた。
Time passed.
14. 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.
15. 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 get too close to the computer screen.
16. 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.
Word Note: 通り過ぎる usually means to “pass by”, but it can also have the sense “going too far”.
Grammar Note: What about the negative? Take the following two similar phrases into consideration. 読まなすぎる vs. 読みすぎない. The first one states that one “reads too little”. The second states that one “doesn’t read too much”. There may also be cases when ～なすぎる is inappropriate for pragmatic reasons in particular contexts.
17. 彼は何もできなすぎる。 △
He can’t do anything.
The Intensifier ～ない
There is also a suffix ～ない that increases the intensity of a given adjective. Inserting さ when using them with ～すぎる is wrong, but speakers occasionally do so anyway.
The confusing part about this is that this does come from the negative ない. It so happened that late in Classical Japanese it acquired the meaning of just being an intensifier to particular phrases.
18. だらしない生活をする。
To lead a sloven lifestyle.
19. あの映画はまったくえげつないよ。
That movie is just completely dirty.
20. はしたなく言い争う。
To immodestly quarrel.
21. しがないサラリーマンの人生
The humble life of a salary-man
22. あどけない子供の笑顔を見る。
To look at the angelic smile of a child,
23. ぎこちなく運転しちゃだめだ。
Don’t drive all clumsy.
24. ｛いとけない・無邪気な｝子
An innocent child
25. 滅相もない・滅相なことをいうものじゃないよ！
Don’t say something so absurd!
There are a few cases where the original adjective and the adjective with the intensifier ～ない exist, just like above. Another example is 忙しない and 忙しい. The first means “seems busy” and the other means “really busy”, but it is still the case that the former is more intense.
26. 彼はせわしい人だ。
He’s a real busybody.
27. 忙しない季節
A season so busy with no time to rest
Another odd pair is 切な versus 切ない. 切な is now typically 切なる, odd giving that this is more Classical in form. The word means “earnest”, and you would think 切ない would mean that too. It did, but over time it gained more negative undertones, and now it refers to heartrending sadness. This, though, sprouted out from the meaning of “earnest”.
28. 切な（る）顔
An earnest face
29. 切なさを堪える。
To withhold heart-wrenching.
Another weird word is 怪しからん. This comes from the old verb 怪しかる, but rather than being opposites, they accidentally became the same thing, both meaning “inexcusable”.
30. 親切に扱ってくれた人の不満をいうとは怪しからん。(Dialectical/older person)
Complaining about those who have treated you well is inexcusable.