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太tàitoo (much); very; extremely

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

太 (tài) means "too" or "extremely" before an adjective. The learner pattern is 太 + Adj. + 了, which can complain that something is excessive or praise how strong a quality is, as in 太好了 "so good" or "too good."

What does 太 mean?

  1. 1.

    too (much); very; extremelyadverb

What does the character 太 mean?

  • 太too (much); very; extremely

How do you use 太?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    太 + Adj. + 了

    Put 太 before an adjective and usually add 了 after it. The pattern can mean "too …" as a complaint or "so/very …" as praise.

After 太 + adjective, 了 often makes the line sound natural; the same pattern can complain or praise depending on the adjective and tone.

Patterns

  • 太 + Adj. + 了

    你太好了。

    Nǐ tài hǎo le.

    You are so kind / so great.

  • 不太 + Adj.

    我不太忙。

    Wǒ bù tài máng.

    I am not too busy.

What are some examples of 太 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    太好了！

    Tài hǎo le!

    That's great! / So good!

  2. HSK 1

    现在太晚了。

    Xiànzài tài wǎn le.

    It is too late now.

  3. HSK 1

    我今天太忙了。

    Wǒ jīntiān tài máng le.

    I am too busy today.

  4. HSK 1

    这本书不太好。

    Zhè běn shū bù tài hǎo.

    This book is not very good.

How is 太 different from 很?

太 + Adj. + 了 often marks excess or strong feeling (太晚了 "too late"). 很 links a noun to an adjective and may only be a light link (很好). For a complaint of excess, 太 fits better than 很.

Only 太 fits here

现在太晚了。

Xiànzài tài wǎn le.

It is too late now.

How is 太 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你今天忙吗？

    Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?

    Are you busy today?

  2. Speaker B:

    太忙了。

    Tài máng le.

    Too busy.

  3. Speaker A:

    现在去可以吗？

    Xiànzài qù kěyǐ ma?

    Can we go now?

  4. Speaker B:

    现在太晚了。

    Xiànzài tài wǎn le.

    It is too late now.

  5. Speaker A:

    明天呢？

    Míngtiān ne?

    What about tomorrow?

  6. Speaker B:

    明天太好了！

    Míngtiān tài hǎo le!

    Tomorrow is great!

Can you use 太 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: ___好了！
  2. 2.Which correctly says "too late"?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: 我今天___忙了。

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.