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N3

あまりに

So much...that, (Way) too...

友達ともだちの話はなしがあまりにもつまらなくて途中とちゅうからほとんど聞きいてなかった。

My friend's story was so boring that I stopped paying attention halfway.

Explanation

「あまりに」 means 'far too...': the degree goes beyond what is tolerable or reasonable, with a bad result: 「あまりに寒くて、眠れなかった」 (It was so cold that I couldn't sleep). In speech it is often 「あまりにも」, and 「あんまり」 is also used. It can be doubled with 「~すぎる」 for emphasis: 「あまりに危険すぎる」.

Mixed up with

Don't confuse it with 「あまり~ない」 ('not very'). 「あまりに」 is followed by a positive sentence and means 'too...'; 「あまり~ない」 is negative and means 'not very...'. One small difference, opposite meaning.

The common N2 pattern 「あまりの+noun+に」: 「あまりの驚きに声も出なかった」 (I was so shocked I couldn't make a sound).

Examples

  1. 今日きょうの仕事しごとはあまりに楽らく過すぎて仕事しごとをした感かんじがしない。

    Work today was so easy that I don't feel like I worked at all.

  2. 今朝けさは会社かいしゃにあまりに遅おそく着ついたため、先輩せんぱいに怒おこられた。

    This morning, I got to the company so late that I was yelled at by my senpai.

  3. あまりに早はやく着ついてしまった。

    I unfortunately arrived too early.

Tested 3 times in past papers

N2 · Jul 2026, Q32N3 · Dec 2025, Q39N3 · Dec 2018, Q38