余(あま)りにSo much...that, (Way) too...

Adverbial あまり

Structure

あまり⁽¹⁾ + に ⁽²⁾+ Adjective
あまり⁽¹⁾ + に⁽²⁾ + Adverb
あまり⁽¹⁾ + の + Noun

⁽¹⁾ あんまり
⁽²⁾ にも

Details

Standard

About あまりに

English

Japanese

Being the adverbial form of 余(あま)る 'excess', あまりに is a grammar structure that is used to convey an 'excessive' amount of something that caused a certain result. あまりに will almost always be used in sentences expressing some sort of surprise/shock about the degree of (A). Often, あまりに is translated simply as 'so much (A) that (B)', or 'way too much (A)'.

In the last example, we can see that あまり will be followed by の when linked to a noun. Occasionally, にも will be used instead of に. This just emphasizes the 'excess' of (A) further.

As the literal meaning of あまりに is quite close to 'excessively', it may be easier to remember this translation, rather than 'so much (A) that (B)'. Usually, 'it is excessively (A), so (B)' will cover most possible nuances.

Caution

あんまり is a colloquial variant of あまり that is often said, but should be avoided in any form of formal/official writing.

Vocab Coverage

All Bunpro Vocab that appears on this item.

Examples

--:--

余(あま)りに早(はや)く着(つ)いてしまった。
I unfortunately arrived too early.
そのケーキは余(あま)りに大(おお)きすぎて、食(た)べられない。
That cake is too big to eat.
余(あま)りに寒(さむ)すぎて、帰(かえ)ってきてしまった。
It was too cold, so I turned back.
その計画(けいかく)は余(あま)りに非現実的(ひげんじつてき)だよ。
That plan is too unrealistic!
余(あま)りに仕事(しごと)が多(おお)すぎて、手(て)に負(お)えない。
I have too much work to deal with.
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Online
- Discussion and Additional Links
  J Reference Forum
- What are the various uses of あまり?
  Japanese Stack Exchange
- あまりに and あまりにも
  Japanese Stack Exchange
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あまりに – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

Haruka
Thank you, @mrnoone! I understand it better now. Also thanks for explaining the other use of というのも, it would have completely confused me.
notasas

mrnoone:

Structure:
あまりに / あまりにも + Verb
あまりに / あまりにも + Adj
あまり の + Noun

Of these rules, which one applies in the following sentence?
その言い訳はあまりにも幼稚すぎる。

My dictionary lists 幼稚 as a noun so shouldn’t the last rule apply? Or is -すぎる acting as -する here or something?
The111

notasas:

Of these rules, which one applies in the following sentence?
その言い訳はあまりにも幼稚すぎる。

My dictionary lists 幼稚 as a noun so shouldn’t the last rule apply? Or is -すぎる acting as -する here or something?

Sad to see this question unanswered after 3 years. AFAICT, 幼稚 is a na-adjective, and adding the すぎる makes it a verb. In either case, it needs the adverbial 余りに in front.

But the sentence below does have に preceding a noun, which quite confused me.

余りに仕事が多すぎて、手に負えない。

In the absence of a real explanation anywhere, I had a long conversation with an LLM about this, and I will repeat it h...