JLPT N2: あまりの～に (so... that)

あまり is kind of a tricky word. Just look at all of these definitions:

余り
あまり
1 the rest; the remainder; the remnant; the surplus; the balance; leftovers
2 too; too much; excessively; to excess; (not) very; (not) quite; (not) much

Grammar-wise, you're most likely to be familiar with when あまり is used to say "(not) very" or "(not) much."

For example, they might teach a sentence like this in your Japanese class:

私の娘はあまり食べません。
わたし　の　むすめ　は　あまり　たべません。
My daughter does not eat very much.
Literally: “I + の + daughter + は + あまり (=[not] much) + does not eat.”

If most of your usage of Japanese comes from hanging out with friends and family in casual situations, then maybe you'd be a bit more likely to hear the more conversational version of あまり, which is あんまり：

昨日はあんまり食べなかった。
きのう　は　あんまり　たべなかった。
I didn't eat much yesterday.
Literally: “yesterday + は + あんまり (=[not] much) + didn't eat.”

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Perhaps this comes as no surprise, but in this lesson we're looking at a completely different usage of あまり.

Specifically, you can use あまりの～に to say that the degree of something is extreme, and that it is producing an unusual result.

To put it more simply, あまりの～に is the "so... that" in phrases like, "I was so cold that I couldn't sleep at all."

In fact, that's our first example sentence:

昨夜はあまりの寒さに一睡もできなかった。
さくや　は　あまりの　さむさ　に　いっすい　も　できなかった。
Last night it was so cold that I couldn’t sleep at all.
Literally: “last night + は + あまりの + coldness + に + (not) a wink of sloop + も + couldn’t do.”

寒さ is "coldness." So...

あまりの寒さに
↓　↓　↓
あまりの coldness に
↓　↓　↓
so cold that

Not too tricky, yeah?

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👷 Construction 👷

This is easy: Just put a NOUN between あまりの and に, like this:

あまりの ＋ NOUN ＋ に

あまりの寒さに
あまりの　さむさ　に
so cold that
Literally: “あまりの + coldness + に"

あまりの理不尽さに
あまりの　りふじんさ　に
so irrational that
Literally: “あまりの + irrationality / unreasonableness + に"

あまりの痛さに
あまりの　いたさ　に
so painful that
Literally: “あまりの + pain / painfulness + に"

あまりの恐怖に
あまりの　きょうふ　に
so scared / scary that
Literally: “あまりの + fear / terror + に"

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Did you notice a pattern in the list of constructions above?

We have a さ at the end of most of those words.

It is common for the "‐さ form" of i-adjectives to appear inside of あまりの～に.

We explored how to make i-adjectives into nouns (of degree) in these two lessons:

[NDL #125] - White's Whitish White Whiteness
[NDL #130] - White's Whitish White Whiteness Continues

Anyway, it seems kind of self-explanatory to me that we're changing adjectives into nouns and inserting them into あまりの～に. I mean, the English translations are all using adjectives like "cold," "painful," and so on.

Moving on...

You have to make it through three more example sentences in order to achieve あまりの～に master status...

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彼はなんでもかんでも人のせいにする。あまりの理不尽さに怒りを通り越して呆れてしまう。
かれ　は　なんでもかんでも　ひと　の　せい　に　する。　あまりの　りふじんさ　に　いかり　を　とおりこして　あきれて　しまう。
He blames everything on other people. He’s so irrational that I don’t even get mad at him—I just become astounded.
Literally: “he + は + anything and everything + person + の + fault + に + does. + あまりの + irrationality + に + anger + を + go beyond (and) + end up becoming astounded.”

This sentence was hard for me to translate. I had to reread the second half about ten times before I finally figured out a way to put it into English.

I'm telling you this so that you don't feel too stressed if these example sentences are making your head spin.

Comprehending head-spinning sentences is key to passing N2 and N1!

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初めての出産の時、あまりの痛さに「もう殺して！」と叫びそうになった。
はじめて　の　しゅっさん　の　とき、　あまりの　いたさ　に　「もう　ころして！」　と　さけびそう　に　なった。
The first time I gave birth, it was so painful that I almost screamed out, “Just kill me already!”
Literally: “for the first time + の + giving birth + の + time, + あまりの + pain + に + ‘already + kill (me) (and)!’ + と + almost screamed.”

By the way (and I probably should have mentioned this earlier), unlike many of our N2 and N1 grammar forms, あまりの～に can actually be used in conversations. So feel free to try it out with a teacher or a language exchange partner.

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夜道で突然誰かに後ろから抱きつかれた。あまりの恐怖に心臓が止まりかけた。よみち　で　とつぜん　だれか　に　うしろ　から　だきつかれた。　あまりの　きょうふ　に　しんぞう　が　とまり　かけた。
I was walking down a street at night when someone grabbed me from behind. I was so scared that my heart almost stopped.

Literally: “street at night + で + suddenly + someone + に + behind + from + was embraced / was grabbed. + あまりの + fear + に + heart + が + almost stopped.”

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That's all for this one.

お疲れさまでした！