～すぎる

～すぎる means "too", "too much": something goes past the point where it is fine. It goes on a verb's ます-stem, on an い-adjective with its final い dropped, and straight on a な-adjective.

The い of an い-adjective goes: ×高いすぎる → 高すぎる. Two adjectives change shape. いい uses its old form よい, and ない adds さ.

• × いいすぎる → よすぎる

A verb's ない-form works the same way as ない: たべない食べない becomes たべ食べなさすぎる, "eats far too little".

Conjugating すぎる

すぎる is a る-verb, so it takes every ending a る-verb does: すぎた, すぎて, すぎない. The て-form gives the reason something went wrong.

Usage notes

These go beyond the plain "too much".

すぎ as a noun

The ます-stem すぎ works as a noun, so it can take です or a particle.

Praise in casual speech

In casual speech ～すぎる on a good quality is praise: the thing is better than you expected.