あまり
Expresses that a feeling or state is so intense that it leads to a result, often an involuntary one: “so … that …” or “out of extreme ….”
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Somewhat literary, this pattern is common in writing and narration, especially with feelings such as joy or surprise. The following clause gives the consequence of the feeling’s intensity; the person affected need not be the speaker.
Note that the result is normally involuntary, rather than a deliberate action, request, or command.
Note that a noun takes の before あまり.
Learners should distinguish this pattern from あまり with a negative expression, meaning “not very.”
- あまりにN3「あまりに」is an adverb placed before a predicate to mean 'too...', with a neutral register. In 「あまりの+noun」, when the noun expresses an emotion or feeling, it can be replaced with 「nounのあまり」—for example, 「あまりの人出に」cannot be replaced.
- あまりにもN3「あまりにも」is an adverb placed before adjectives and verbs, as in 「あまりにも嬉しくて泣いた」, with a neutral register. Besides introducing a result, it can also simply exclaim 'it's really too...', without necessarily being followed by a result; the two cannot be directly substituted—the sentence structure must be rewritten.
- すぎるN4「すぎる」attaches to the verb form with 「ます」removed, adjective stems, and the like, simply indicating that the appropriate limit is exceeded, often with a negative judgment; it does not necessarily lead to a result and is neutral in register. 「あまり」, by contrast, focuses on the consequences triggered by excessive degree and leans toward written style.
- ばかりにN2「ばかりに」does not emphasize excessive degree; rather, it states that a regrettable bad result came about simply because of some reason or quality (often a trivial one), and it cannot introduce a good result (except 「〜たいばかりに」). Nouns must take 「である/だった」.
- せいでN3「せいで」attributes a bad result to the preceding cause, with a tone of dissatisfaction; the cause is not limited to excessive degree, it works in both speech and writing, and い-adjectives attach directly. 「あまり」carries no blame, and its second clause can be a non-negative outcome such as crying tears of joy, so the two mostly cannot be interchanged.
- んばかりにN1「んばかりに」attaches to the negative stem of a verb and is an exaggerated metaphor meaning 'as if about to...', describing an action that does not actually happen; it is mostly used to depict others' demeanor. 「あまり」indicates a result triggered by excessive degree, so the two cannot be interchanged.
あまりに and あまりにも express excessive degree as adverbs, while すぎる marks excess; あまり here follows the expression of a feeling or state and introduces its consequence. ばかりに and せいで focus on a cause of a bad outcome, whereas んばかりに describes an appearance of being about to do something.


