Chinese word

太

Pronunciation

Pinyintài

Meaning

  • adverbtoo

Example

太贵了tài guì le

It's too expensive.

Illustration for 太 (too)

More examples

这个包太贵了。zhè ge bāo tài guì le

This bag is too expensive.

Core concept

A quality is turned up past the normal level, with the extra force sounding either emphatic or excessive.

Common phrases

  • 太贵了tài guì le

    too expensive

  • 太好了tài hǎo le

    very good

  • 太大了tài dà le

    too big

  • 太多了tài duō le

    too many

Similar words

很hěn: Marks a noticeable degree of a quality in a simple, neutral way.
非常fēi cháng: Marks an exceptionally high degree of a quality with strong emphasis.

Definition in Chinese

用来表示程度过分或非常，通常放在形容词前并可与“了”连用表示感叹，例如“太贵了”。yòng lái biǎo shì chéng dù guò fèn huò fēi cháng tōng cháng fàng zài xíng róng cí qián bìng kě yǔ le lián yòng biǎo shì gǎn tàn lì rú tài guì le

Word origin

太 (tài, "too; very") extends the idea of 大 (dà, "big") with a small added stroke, making an unusually high degree easier to remember.

Usage tips

  • English often makes too sound negative, but this word can also introduce an excited positive reaction in everyday Chinese.

Other meanings

  • veryadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word