▎太…了, tài (Adv)...le, overly, excessively

 

Function 太…了 indicates ‘too’, ‘overly’, or ‘greatly’, ‘really’, a negative or positive observation given by the speaker, depending on the Vs chosen.

 

Negative	Positive
太貴了。Tài guì le. Too expensive. 太大了。Tài dà le. Too big. 太熱了。Tài rè le. Too hot.	太好了。Tài hǎo le. Wonderful. 太漂亮了。Tài piàoliàng le. So beautiful. 太舒服了。Tài shūfú le. So comfortable.

 

Usage

(1) ‘太＋Vs’ presents a negative evaluation by the speaker. 那支手機太貴。Nà zhī shǒujī tài guì. ‘That cell phone is too expensive’. Only the excessive meaning is possible in this structure.

(2) ‘太＋Vs＋了’ is more subjective, indicating that the speaker feels that what is being talked about is either excessive (adj.) or praise-worthy. For example, 那支手機太貴了。Nà zhī shǒujī tài guì le. ‘That cell phone is way too expensive’. 這支手機太便宜了。Zhè zhī shǒujī tài piányí le. ‘This cell phone is so cheap.’