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［stem］+ 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［く］［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
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Standard

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.

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.

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 funny at all.
(Literally - Was too much not 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.

漢字(かんじ)を書(か)きすぎたから、手(て)が痛(いた)い。

Because I wrote too much kanji, my hand hurts.

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Online
- Express Excessiveness
  PuniPuni
- Saying there's too much of something using 「すぎる」
  Tae Kim

Offline
- [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
  Page 77
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 2 & 423
- Genki I
  Page 232
- Genki I 2nd Edition
  Page 272
- Marugoto Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai
  Page 124
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 250
- みんなの日本語 II
  Page 120 [CH 44]
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すぎる – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (59 in total)

Jake
too much
Structure
- Verb[stem] + すぎる
- Negative Verb[い] + さ すぎる
- い-Adjective [い] + すぎる
- な-Adjective + すぎる
- Adjective ending in ない + さ すぎる
View on Bunpro
Juppy
Is it possible to get more examples/tests for the following?
- Negative Verb[い] + さ すぎる
- Adjective ending in ない + さ すぎる
I realized that the example sentences do not cover the above; which would be really helpful!
mrnoone
We are adding new examples!
By the way, it is also common to write Verb[い] + すぎる so 食べなさすぎる or 食べなすぎる。
mrnoone
New examples have been added
Juppy
Thanks!
I see some of these new sentences now in the review; very helpful!
Marcus
mrnoone
Yes, you are right!
You got it
Marcus
That’s a relief! Thank you!
Marcus
Do you mind if I work through one more?
For some reason I’m having real problems with this grammar and working it out helps a lot!
mrnoone
Yes! That is right!

Sorry for the slow answer
mwelsh
Is there a difference in meaning between using the negative verb stem before すぎる vs. using the negative form of すぎる? Is this a valid grammar?

Using the examples:
この冗談は面白くなさすぎた。 The joke was not too funny.
この冗談はおもしろすぎなかった。???

寝なさすぎたから、疲れた。I was tired because I didn’t sleep very much.
寝すぎなかったから、疲れた。???

お菓子かしを食すぎないでください。Please don’t eat too much candy.
お菓子かしを食なさすぎてください。 ???

Apologies if my grammar is incorrect!
Thank you!
mrnoone
Hey

Sorry for the slow answer

There is a difference(I will use 食べる as an example):

食べ過ぎない
is used in negative questions or when telling someone to not eat too much, mostly as:
食べすぎない？ (aren’t you (X) eating too much?)
食べすぎないようにする (try ones best to not eat too much)
食べすぎないように (so that one won’t eat too much, this use of ように is not yet added to Bunpro)

On the other hand, 食べなさすぎる means that someone barely eats something, eats too little, does not eat very much.
nathan.powers10
example sentence ねなさ すぎた から、疲つかれた。

I’m fairly certain the audio plays the wrong sentience
mrnoone
You are absolutely right!

Thank you for informing us about the bug!
The sentence has been added to “to record” list

Sorry for the inconvenience!
xBl4ck
I’m a little confused with this translation
mrnoone
Hey

“not funny at all” and “not very funny -> exceedingly not funny -> extremely not funny - too dull” are very similar, but not the same. They differ at degree.

To say not funny at all you would use 全然面白くない、とてもおもしろくない etc.
Lilalas
It took me a while to figure out that this grammar point is essentially the verb 「過ぎる」(*). Now that I know this an ichidan verb, it is also clear where the conjugated forms 「すぎた」 and 「すぎない」 come from. But why are there no example sentences utilising the polite verb form 「すぎます」?

(*): I think you should always mention the kanji spelling if there is one available, even if it is not commonly used.
Lilalas
Additional question: Is 「過ぎ」 a regular verb form, or is it just an irregular mutation of this particular verb?
mrnoone

It took me a while to figure out that this grammar point is essentially the verb 「過ぎる」(*). Now that I know this an ichidan verb, it is also clear where the conjugated forms 「すぎた」 and 「すぎない」 come from. But why are there no example sentences utilising the polite verb form 「すぎます」?

漢字 spelling has been added. Polite sentences also have been introduced.

Additional question: Is 「過ぎ」 a regular verb form, or is it just an irregular mutation of this particular verb?

過ぎ is a noun form, basically:

食べすぎる - to eat too much
食べ過ぎ - overeating

Cheers
Isurandil492
Regarding the example sentence:

これはおもすぎるでしょう。[重い]

Is おもすぎます wrong due to the でしょう?