Video
Let’s watch this short video for a quick overview.
Source: gokigen japanese official YouTube Channel
Introduction
Want to say things like:
- “This coffee is too hot.”
- “I ate too much yesterday.”
- “That kanji is too difficult!”
In Japanese, there’s a simple and useful way to express excess using:
Verb or adjective (stem) + すぎる
= too much / overly ~
Let’s learn how to use this structure to describe when something goes beyond normal or acceptable levels — and practice with real examples!
1. Grammar Structure
Pattern: V/Adj (stem) + すぎる
| Type | Example | すぎる Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb | たべる | 食べすぎる | to eat too much |
| い-adjective | たかい | 高すぎる | too expensive |
| な-adjective | かんたん（な） | 簡単すぎる | too easy |
The conjugation of “sugiru” follows the ru-verb conjugation patterns.
long [polite] form
| Type | Conjugation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| affirmative | すぎます | たかすぎます It is too expensive |
| negative | すぎません | たかすぎません It is not too expensive |
| affirmative / past | すぎました | たかすぎました It was too expensive |
| negative / past | すぎませんでした | たかすぎませんでした It was not too expensive |
short [plain] form
| Type | Conjugation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| affirmative | すぎる | たかすぎる It is too expensive |
| negative | すぎない | たかすぎない It is not too expensive |
| affirmative / past | すぎた | たかすぎた It was too expensive |
| negative / past | すぎなかった | たかすぎなかった It was not too expensive |
| te-form | すぎて | たかすぎて（買えない） It is too expensive (to buy) |
2. How to Form It
To use V Adj- stem + すぎる, follow these steps:
- Get the stem of the verb or adjective.
- Attach すぎる to the stem with appropriate tense and form (e.g. すぎた in past tense, すぎます in long form)
Verbs:
Use the stem form (remove ます from ます-form)
| Verb (ます form) | Stem | +すぎる | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食べます | 食べ | 食べすぎる | eat too much |
| 勉強します | 勉強し | 勉強しすぎる | study too much |
| 寝ます | 寝 | 寝すぎる | sleep too much |
い-Adjectives:
Drop the final い and add すぎる
| Adjective | Stem | +すぎる | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高い | 高 | 高すぎる | too expensive |
| 寒い | 寒 | 寒すぎる | too cold |
| 難しい | 難し | 難しすぎる | too difficult |
Special Case: いい → よすぎる
The adjective いい（good） is irregular. This irregular rule also applies to compound adjectives that include いい, such as かっこいい (cool, good-looking).
| Adjective | +すぎる | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いい | よすぎる | too good |
| かっこいい | かっこよすぎる | too cool |
However, be careful! The adjective かわいい (cute) looks similar but is actually a regular i-adjective.
かわいい → かわい [stem] → かわいすぎる
な-Adjectives:
Remove な and add すぎる
| Adjective | Stem | +すぎる | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| かんたんな | かんたん | かんたんすぎる | too easy |
| まじめな | まじめ | まじめすぎる | too serious |
| 下手な | 下手 | 下手すぎる | too unskilled/bad |
3. Example Sentences
このバッグは小さすぎます。
This bag is too small.
日本語は難しすぎます。
Japanese is too difficult.
きのう食べすぎたから、お腹が痛いです。
My stomach hurts because I ate too much yesterday.
この映画はおもしろすぎました。
This movie was too fun.
4. Practice Time!
Convert the following into “too much” forms:
| Base | + すぎる (long form) | English |
|---|---|---|
| 広い | 広すぎます | too spacious |
| 厳しい | 厳しすぎます | too strict |
| 運動する | 運動しすぎます | work out too much |
| 寝る | 寝すぎます | sleep too much |
| サボる | サボりすぎます | slack off too much |
5. Real-Life Scenarios
きのうカラオケで歌いすぎたから、のどが痛いです。
My throat hurts because I sang too much at karaoke yesterday.
きのう飲みすぎたから、二日酔いです。
I drank too much yesterday, so I have a hangover today.
ゲームをしすぎたから、テストの成績がわるかったです。
I played too many games, so my test scores were bad.
6. Common Mistakes to Avoid
| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct |
|---|---|
| 食べますすぎる | 食べすぎる |
| 高いすぎる | 高すぎる |
| 簡単なすぎる | 簡単すぎる |
💡 Always attach すぎる to the stem, not the full word!
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
- QCan I use すぎる in the past tense?
- A
Yes. Just say:
食べすぎました = I ate too much
飲みすぎた = I drank too much
- QCan I use it in polite speech?
- A
Yes. Use:
〜すぎます (polite present)
〜すぎました (polite past)
- QCan this grammar be used with a negative nuance?
- A
Yes, but be careful. For example:
タケシさんはいじわるすぎる。 = Takeshi is too mean.
エミさんはまじめすぎて、つまらない。 = Emi is too serious and boring.
- QHow do I find the “stem form” for different types of verbs (る-verbs, う-verbs, irregular verbs) to attach 「すぎる」?
- A
- る-verbs (Group 2): Remove る from the short form. (e.g., 食べる → 食べ, 見る → 見)
- う-verbs (Group 1): Use the い-ending form (like the ます-stem). This is often called the pre-ます form. (e.g., 飲みます → 飲み, 話します → 話し, 行きます → 行き)
- Irregular verbs: 来ます (きます) → 来 (き), します (します) → し
If you want to review the short form of verbs, read this article: How to Use Japanese Short Forms (Plain Forms) for Casual Conversations
- QWhat particles (like 「を」「が」「に」) are used in a sentence with 「〜すぎる」? Do they change?
- A
The particles used with the verb or adjective before 「すぎる」 generally remain the same as they would in a regular sentence without 「すぎる」. The particles indicate the relationship of other nouns to the verb/adjective.
- Example (Verb): ご飯を食べすぎました。(Gohan o tabesugimashita.) – 「ご飯を食べる」 uses 「を」.
- Example (Adjective): この部屋は広すぎますね。(Kono heya wa hirosugimasu ne.) – 「この部屋は広い」 uses 「は」.
- Example (Verb): 働きすぎて病気になりました。(Hatarakisugi te byouki ni narimashita.) – 「働く」 doesn’t take を/が/に with the subject, but the reason for becoming sick is “overworking,” using the particle て.
- QDoes 「〜すぎる」 always imply a negative meaning, or can it be used positively or neutrally?
- A
While 「〜すぎる」 most often implies that something is excessively so, leading to a negative outcome or feeling (“too much,” “overly”), its connotation can sometimes be neutral or even slightly positive depending on the adjective or verb it’s attached to and the context.
- Typically Negative: 食べすぎる (eat too much), 難しすぎる (too difficult), 働きすぎる (work too much)
- Can be Neutral/Situational: 大きすぎる (too big – might be bad or just a factual description), 静かすぎる (too quiet – might be good or bad depending on the desired atmosphere)
- Can be Slightly Positive/Nuanced: 親切すぎる (too kind – might imply they are excessively kind but not necessarily a bad thing, could even be admirable in some contexts).
When someone hears a new song by an artist they like, they may say “この曲、良すぎる…！ (kono kyoku yosugiru, This song is too good)”, which in this context is a completely positive nuance, and ‘すぎる’ emphasizes 良い=good.
Conclusion
Now you can:
✅ Say something is too much
✅ Attach すぎる to verbs and adjectives
✅ Express complaints, limits, and exaggerations naturally
🎯 Try this:
Make 3 sentences using すぎる to describe your day!
