modality N2 common politewritten
に過ぎない — no more than
に過ぎない ・ にすぎない
Meaning
- no more than ~ / merely ~ / nothing but ~ — plays something down as only that and nothing greater
Key sentence
それは言い訳に過ぎない。
That's nothing but an excuse.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | N + に過ぎない | うわさに過ぎない |
| Verb / adjective (plain form) | Plain form + に過ぎない | 知っているふりをしているに過ぎない |
| Number / quantity | (quantity) + に過ぎない | 全体の一割に過ぎない |
When: Somewhat formal and written; used to deflate or relativise — 'it's only that, don't read more into it'.
Examples
私は事実を述べたに過ぎない。
I merely stated the facts.
これは始まりに過ぎない。
This is no more than the beginning.
When you can't use it
- Belittles the preceding item as 'only that', implying the speaker judges it small or insignificant — so it carries an evaluative, dismissive tone, not a neutral count.
Easily confused with
〜だけ だけ neutrally limits amount or scope ('only three'); に過ぎない adds a judgement that the thing is trivial or less than it appears ('merely / no more than'). 単に 単に is an adverb up front ('simply / merely ~'); に過ぎない closes the clause as a predicate. They often team up: 単に〜に過ぎない ('it's simply nothing more than ~').
See に過ぎない in real sentences
Jengo shows に過ぎない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.