adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten
せいぜい — at most
せいぜい
Meaning
- at most / at best / no more than — sets an upper limit, usually hinting that it's not much
Key sentence
がんばっても、せいぜい一時間しか集中できない。
Even trying hard, I can concentrate for an hour at most.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adverb before a quantity, amount, or degree | せいぜい + [amount / degree] | せいぜい二千円 / せいぜい三人 |
Examples
この店は安いといっても、せいぜい一割引きだ。
They call this shop cheap, but it's ten percent off at best.
夏休みといっても、休めるのはせいぜい三日くらいだ。
Even though it's summer break, I can take maybe three days off at most.
Easily confused with
Notes
- Frequently carries a belittling or skeptical tone ('that's the best it'll amount to'). As a set phrase せいぜい頑張って it instead means 'do your best' — sometimes sincere, sometimes sarcastic.
See せいぜい in real sentences
Jengo shows せいぜい the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.