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About 精々
精々 'at the limit' is an adverb used to convey that something is 'at the most (A)', or 'at best (A)'. This just indicates that the point that (A) has reached cannot be progressed beyond, due to having already reached some physical or metaphorical barrier. This can also often come across as 'no more than (A)', especially in cases where no actual barrier exists, but the speaker cannot imagine that anything higher (or lower) than (A) is possible.
As 精々 is an adverb, it often appears at the beginning of sentence, or at the beginning of the second clause of a sentence, before the thing that is thought to be at its maximum is described.
As 精々 is an adverb, it often appears at the beginning of sentence, or at the beginning of the second clause of a sentence, before the thing that is thought to be at its maximum is described.
- このバッグはせいぜい1000円くらいだろう。This bag probably costs 1000 yen at most.
- せいぜい3ヶ月は働いてもらわないと困ります。You need to work for 3 months at the most.
- 私が作れる料理はせいぜいこんなもんです。This is at best what I can cook.
- 私は今働いているので、勉強できても1日に精々1時間ぐらいしか勉強ができない。Since I am working now, even if I could study, I can only study 1 hour a day at most.
Fun-fact - 精々 is said to have come from the old-fashioned word 精試, which meant 'to completely exhaust all of one's good faith'. In modern times, 精々 itself has kept this meaning of 'completely exhausting (A)'. However, this is no longer used in reference to 'good faith', but rather exhausting all of one's 'power', 'mental capacity', or 'power of assumption' in relation to (A).
Examples
証人:「加害者はたぶんせいぜい30歳ぐらいでしょ。」
Witness: 'The assailant is about 30 years old at most.'
店員:「これ、1000円です。」クライアント:「1000円だって?この服の品質がそんなに高いとは思えないがね。払えるのは精々500円でしょ。」
Clerk: 'This is 1000 yen.' Client: '1000 yen? I don't think that the quality of these clothes is that high. I can pay 500 yen at most.'
凄く怒ったファン:「ダーデンはせいぜい2流のコーチだぞ!子供でさえもっと上手くコーチングできるぞ!」
Extremely angry fan: 'Durden is a second-rate coach at best! Even a child can coach better than him!'
「田舎では鍵を使うどころかせいぜい一生のうちで一度くらいしか鍵なんかみたことないわ。」
'In the country, far from using keys, I've not seen a key more than once in my life.'
「38歳だって?精々30くらいなものだと思っていたよ。」
'38 years old you say? I thought he was around 30 at most!'
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