How to Use Japanese すぎる (sugiru) with Adjectives

This lesson teaches how to use Japanese すぎる (sugiru) to express “too” with adjectives, indicating something is excessive, like “too difficult” or “too expensive.”

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Key Points

• ? すぎる (sugiru): Means “to exceed” or “go too far.”
• ? い Adjectives: Drop い and add すぎます (sugimasu).
• ? な Adjectives: Drop な and add すぎます (sugimasu).
• ? Exception: “Good” (いい) becomes よすぎます (yo sugimasu).

Meaning of すぎる (sugiru)

すぎる (sugiru) means “to exceed” or “go too far,” and it is a When conjugating a RU verb, you only need to change the ending. The conjugation of すぎる (sugiru) is as follows.

• すぎる (sugiru) … Plain (Dictionary) Form
• すぎた (sugita) … Plain Past Form
• すぎます (sugimasu) … MASU Form
• すぎました (sugimashita) … MASU Past Form
• すぎて (sugite) … TE Form

すぎる (sugiru) with い Adjectives

When you use すぎる (sugiru) with a い Adjective, you drop い and add すぎます (sugimasu) for Formal and すぎる (sugiru) for Informal.

For instance, たかい (takai) means “expensive.” Therefore, “too expensive” in Japanese is たかすぎます (takasugimasu: Formal) or たかすぎる (takasugiru: Informal).

Exception: “Good” – いい (ii)

いい (ii) “good” is a い Adjective, but it’s an exception and doesn’t follow the formation rule mentioned above.

Instead, replace いい (ii) entirely with よすぎます (yosugimasu: Formal) or よすぎる (yosugiru) for “too good.”

You apply this formation to any い Adjectives that have “good” in them, such as “good-looking.”

すぎる (sugiru) with な Adjectives

When you use すぎる (sugiru) with a な Adjective, you drop な and add すぎます (sugimasu) for Formal and すぎる (sugiru) for Informal.

For instance, しずかな (shizukana) means “quiet.” Therefore, “too quiet” in Japanese is しずかすぎます (shizukasugimasu: Formal) or しずかすぎる (shizukasugiru: Informal).

Use Japanese すぎる (sugiru) with Adjectives

Let’s practice making some sentences using these rules.

Example Sentences

1. “This shop is too expensive.”
   • Japanese: このみせはたかすぎます (Kono mise wa taka sugimasu)
2. “The countryside is too quiet.”
   • Japanese: いなかはしずかすぎます (Inaka wa shizuka sugimasu)
3. “This computer is too old.”
   • Japanese: このパソコンはふるすぎます (Kono pasokon wa furu sugimasu)
4. “My dog is too timid.”
   • Japanese: うちのいぬはおくびょうすぎます (Uchi no inu wa okubyou sugimasu)
5. “Japanese is too difficult.”
   • Japanese: にほんごはむずかしすぎます (Nihongo wa muzukashi sugimasu)

Conclusion

By following these simple rules, you can effectively use すぎる (sugiru) to express “too” with both い and な adjectives in Japanese. Practice creating sentences using these structures to become more comfortable with this grammar point.

Additional Resources

This lesson is part of a larger online course, Japanese 5: Adjective Master Course, which is currently available for enrollment.

Comprehensive 22 Video Lessons
78 pages of PDF materials

Please visit the course website for more information.