余(あま)り

So much...that

Structure

Verb + あまり + (Negative Result) Phrase
［い］Adjective［さ］+ の + あまり + (Negative Result) Phrase
［い］Adjective［み］+ の + あまり + (Negative Result) Phrase
［な］Adjective + な + あまり + (Negative Result) Phrase
Noun + の + あまり + (Negative Result) Phrase

Details

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Standard
使用域
一般

About あまり

As a noun, あまり means 'excess', and refers to an amount of something that is in surplus. This noun is quite often used after many different types of words, to indicate that something happened/exists to an excessive degree (which then resulted in something negative occurring). By itself, 余(あま)り is not negative. However, this grammar point can be thought of as a set phrase that is generally used in negative situations.
To use あまり, you will need to attach it to the end of the following structures. A verb, an い-Adjective (that has been turned into a noun through the use of さ or み) followed by の, a な-Adjective followed by な, or a noun followed by の. Then, after あまり, a (B) phrase will highlight what the negative result was.

彼(かれ)は仕事(しごと)を終(お)わらせることに集中(しゅうちゅう)するあまり、終電(しゅうでん)を逃(のが)しました。
He was so concentrated on finishing his work that he missed the last train.
トムは暑(あつ)さのあまり、気(き)を失(うしな)った。
It was so hot that Tom fainted.
彼女(かのじょ)は彼(かれ)と別(わか)れて、悲(かな)しみのあまりボーっとしている。
She broke up with her boyfriend and is so sad that she is spacing out a lot.
彼(かれ)は音楽(おんがく)が好(す)きなあまり、仕事(しごと)を辞(や)めてバンドを作(つく)った。
He likes music so much that he quit his job and started a band.
ヤスエは初(はじ)めてのライブで、緊張(きんちょう)のあまり上手(うま)く歌(うた)えなかった。
Yasue had her first concert, and she was so nervous that she couldn't sing well.

Caution

The tense of the overall sentence will be dependent on the first clause. Therefore, it is common to see the verb before あまり being used in several different tenses.

先輩(せんぱい)は飲(の)み会(かい)でお酒(さけ)を沢山(たくさん)飲(の)んだあまり、一人(ひとり)で帰(かえ)ることができなかった。
Senpai drank so much at the party that he couldn't get home by himself.
最近(さいきん)彼女(かのじょ)と別(わか)れた友達(ともだち)を心配(しんぱい)するあまり、友達(ともだち)の話(はな)しを聞(き)きに行(い)った。
I was so worried about my friend, who has broken up with his girlfriend recently, that I went to his place to listen to him vent.
社長(しゃちょう)は社員(しゃいん)全員(ぜんいん)に恐(おそ)れられているあまり、誰(だれ)も社長(しゃちょう)の提案(ていあん)を否定(ひてい)しない。
The CEO of our company is so feared by all of the workers that no one will criticize his decisions.

Synonyms

Examples

旅行(りょこう)への楽(たの)しみさのあまり、今日(きょう)は寝(ね)れなさそう。
I am so excited for my trip that it seems like I won't be able to sleep tonight.
トムは驚(おどろ)きのあまり、何(なに)も言(い)えなかった。
Tom was so surprised that he was speechless.
美味(おい)しさのあまり、食(た)べるのは飽(あ)きない。
It is so delicious that I can never get tired of eating it.
ある日(ひ)、王様(おうさま)は食(た)べすぎたあまり、立(た)ち上(あ)がることができなかった。
One day, the king ate so much that he wasn't able to stand up.
悲(かな)しさのあまり、言葉(ことば)を失(うしな)った。
I was so distraught that I was at a loss for words.
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- What are the various uses of あまり?
  JStackExchange
- あまり
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- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar
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あまり – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

pasi
Hey, I have a question about one of the examples for this grammar point. This isn’t strictly related to the grammar in question but other part of the sentence:

旅行への楽しみさの余り、今日は寝れなさそう

What is the なさ in 寝れなさそう?
IcyIceBear
It’s how the negative verb pairs with そう

そう grammar discussion

Helpful comment from that discussion
schumi
Still about the example sentence
旅行への楽しみさのあまり、今日は寝れなさそう。

I’m fine with either 楽しみ or 楽しさ and the difference was nicely explained by @Daru above. However, I am seriously confused that we have both み and さ at the same time. Is this really correct? It seems I can find this combination nowhere else and (if that counts for anything) it does not seem to make so much logical sense to nominalize first with み and then nominalize again with さ. It does make sense maybe to say you nominalize 楽しみ as a な-Adjective? Anyway I would just like to confirm that this isn’t a typo.