Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 7/13

過(す)ぎる

Too much, Very

良すぎる = よすぎる, not いすぎる or よさすぎる

Structure

Verb［ます］+ すぎる
［い］Adjective［い］+ すぎる
［な］Adjective + すぎる

Negative:
Verb［ない］+ なさ(1) + すぎる
［い］Adjective ［ない］ + なさ + すぎる
［な］Adjective + では(2)ない + なさ + すぎる

(1) な
(2) じゃ

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Independent Word

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    動詞

  • 単語の種類

    自立語

  • 使用域

    一般

About すぎる

すぎる is a verb that is used in Japanese to mean 'to exceed', or 'to go past'. It keeps this meaning when it is attached to other words, and creates the Japanese equivalent of saying that something is 'too much'. すぎる can be joined to the ます stem of verbs, the stem form of い-Adjectives (simply remove the い), or the stem form of な-Adjectives (simply remove the な).

With すぎる, the る is regularly omitted, with すぎ being used by itself. This is a casual language pattern, and something you will hear all the time. This variation may be used with any word that すぎる would usually be used with.

There are a few rules that you will need to be careful about when using すぎる. The first of these unique rules is using すぎる with ない. When linked to ない, the い changes to さ, creating the structure なさすぎる. This means 'too much not (A)', or more naturally in English 'not enough (A)'.

As with regular ない forms, では or じゃ will be required when used after な-Adjectives.

In the third example here, we can see that the さ has been omitted. This is technically not correct Japanese, but has become very common among young people, so it still sounds natural.

The second unique rule is when using すぎる with いい to mean 'too good'. Because すぎる is used with the stem form of い-Adjectives, you will need to remember that the stem form of いい is not actually い, but よ. This means that よすぎる would be correct, while いすぎる is not.

Caution

Because すぎる itself is a verb, it can also appear in the negative form, this confuses a lot of learners, and is something that needs to be practiced. Let's have a look at all of the ways that すぎる could possibly appear with ない.

  • 学校(がっこう)に行(い)かなさすぎるから成績(せいせき)が落(お)ちた。
    Because I don't go to school enough, my grades are going down. (Literally, I don't go too much)
  • 彼(かれ)はトイレに行(い)かなさすぎない。
    He doesn't not go to the toilet enough. (A double negative that becomes positive)
  • ゲームセンターには行(い)きすぎないでね。
    Don't go to the arcade too often. (The negative focus is on 'too much', and sounds more like a request)

Because the meaning is different in each one of these sentences, depending on where the ない is, and how many ない's there are, you may need to be careful while reading these, until it starts to feel natural.

Examples

  • ここはゴミが多(おお)すぎる。

    There is too much garbage here.

  • この寿司(すし)は美味(おい)しすぎる。

    This sushi is too delicious.

  • アイスクリームを食(た)べすぎたからお腹(なか)が痛(いた)い。

    Because I ate too much ice cream, my stomach hurts.

  • その冗談(じょうだん)は面白(おもしろ)くなさすぎた。

    That joke was not very funny.

  • いつも週末(しゅうまつ)に寝(ね)すぎます。

    I always sleep too much on the weekends.

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すぎる – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (49 in total)

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    I’m also not sure, because the English translation is ambiguous. But the Japanese means “did too much not-sleeping” = “I slept too little”.

    Whereas

    means “I didn’t do too much sleeping” = “I did not oversleep”.

    There also are some issues with how you’re using ください.

  • Cube2000

    Cube2000

    Ahh gotcha, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks for the reply.

    I kinda threw those 下さい examples in at the last moment since the one review example stumped me for a bit (お菓子を食べすぎないでください。). I didn’t realize the specific example also contains a footnote that clarified some of my confusions.

  • simias

    simias

    I thoroughly enjoy your explanations in this thread (and in general), I went here to ask questions about this なさ construct and they’re already all answered!

    Beyond そう and すぎる, are there other grammatical constructions that change the negative ない to なさ? I keep forgetting this little irregularity and I’m trying to see if I can come up with some underlying logic for it, even though there doesn’t appear to be any…

    That 冗談は面白くなさすぎた example sentence is tricky, but it’s very useful to drill this point.

    Honestly I almost wish that the negative form (and that of そう) was given a dedicated entry just so that you could review this なさ irregularity on its own.

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