Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 7: 14/17

にも(ほど)があるThere is a limit to, You are too ..., How …!, How … one can be!

Structure

Verb + ほどある
[い]Adjective + + ほどある
[な]Adjective + + ほどある
Noun + + ほどある

Details

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About にもほどがある

にも(ほど)がある is an expression that will often be used fairly critically in order to state that something is too much, based on the speaker's personal opinion. Common translations include 'how (A) can one be', 'there is a limit to (A)', or 'you are too (A)'.

Being that it is composed of the case-marking particle に, adverbial particle も, the noun (ほど) 'bounds', and がある 'to have', the more literal meaning of 'there are bounds even within (A)' also carries the critical nuance of the more standard translations.

This structure may follow almost any word type in their standard forms.

Caution

Despite being used negatively in the vast majority of situations, there are instances where にも(ほど)がある will be used positively with adjectives such as かわいい 'cute' or うまい 'delicious'. In sentences like this, the grammar structure is being used jokingly to express admiration or approval.

  • なんだこれは!(みせ)()せるほどの美味(おい)しさじゃん!うまいにも(ほど)があるだろ。
    What the heck is this!? This is so good you can open a restaurant! There is a limit to how good it can be!

Examples

--:--

    自信(じしん)()()ぎている友達(ともだちいち):「(おそ)かれ(はや)かれノーベル(しょう)受賞(じゅしょう)してみせるよ。」
    ()()ぎへの反応(はんのう)をする友達(ともだちに):「ノーベル(しょう)受賞(じゅしょう)なんて冗談(じょうだん)にもほどがあるぞ。」

    Overconfident friend1: 'Sooner or later, I will definitely win a Nobel Prize.'
    Friend2 who is reacting to the overstatement: 'Getting a Nobel Prize? There are limits to jokes, too.'

    Aが勝手(かって)にBの部屋(へや)(はい)ってきた状況(じょうきょう):「こんな時間(じかん)部屋(へや)()しかけてくるなんて、いったいどういう神経(しんけい)しているんだ。失礼(しつれい)にもほどがある。」

    A situation in which A entered B's room without permission: 'What a nerve, to barge into a person's room at this hour. There is a limit to how impolite you can be!'

    (つね)迷子(まいご)になってしまう方向(ほうこう)音痴(おんち)友人(ゆうじん)へ:「高校生(こうこうせい)のくせに学校(がっこう)から(かえ)途中(とちゅう)(みち)(まよ)うなんて方向(ほうこう)音痴(おんち)にもほどがあるよ。」

    To a friend with a poor sense of direction that gets lost on daily basis: 'To get lost on the way home from school despite being a high schooler, there is a limit to how bad with directions you can be!'

    「まったく最近(さいきん)(わか)()って、目上(めうえ)(ひと)がしゃべっているのにおしゃべりするなんて礼儀知(れいぎし)らずにもほどがある。」

    'Seriously, youths these days, to talk when one's superior is talking, there is a limit to how mannerless one can be.'

    (おや)友達(ともだち)(はな)す:「うちの子供(こども)たちはずっと一日中(いちにちじゅう)二人(ふたり)でゲームしてるよ。()きてから(なに)()べずにゲーム三昧(ざんまい)よ。()健康(けんこう)生活(せいかつ)にもほどがあるよね。」

    Parent speaks with a friend: 'My children play games all day long. They wake up and without eating anything, and then they are absorbed in their games. There is a limit to how unhealthy life one can live.'

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