太 tài too much
How to remember 太: 大 big + 丶 dot = too much. At dinner the waiter keeps filling the big glass far past the little dot on its side, and the guest laughs "That is too much!"
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
太 = 大 big + 丶 dot
- 大 big
- 丶 dot
At dinner the waiter keeps filling the big glass far past the little dot on its side, and the guest laughs "That is too much!"
How it came to be
Big with one extra dot was written to mark a separate word: too big, too much.
How it is used
- 'Too (much)', almost always framed 太…了: 太贵了 (tài guì le) too expensive, 太好了 (tài hǎo le) great!
- It carries emotion or exclamation, not neutral degree; for a plain 'very' use 很. Also the base of 太阳 (tàiyáng) the sun and 太太 (tàitai) wife/Mrs.
Characters built with 太
Words with 太
- 太阳tàiyángthe sunHSK 3
- 太太tàitaimarried womanHSK 5
- 太空tàikōngouter spaceHSK 6
- 太阳能tàiyángnéngsolar energyHSK 6
- 老太太lǎotàitaielderly lady (respectful)HSK 6
- 太平tàipíngpeace and securityHSK 7
- 太极tàijíthe Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things according to some interpretations of Chinese mythologyHSK 7
Example sentences
- 今天太热了！ Jīntiān tài rè le!It's so hot today!
- 冬天天气太冷了。 Dōngtiān tiānqì tài lěng le.The winter weather is too cold.
- 你太瘦了，该多吃点。 Nǐ tài shòu le, gāi duō chī diǎnr.You need to eat more, you're too slim.
- 因为太冷，她感冒了。 Yīnwèi tài lěng, tā gǎnmào le.It's so cold that she caught a cold.