Basic Health and Temperature | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 暑すぎます。

   It is too hot.

   暑すぎます

   too hot

   More detail

   暑い means “hot.” It is an い-adjective; when すぎる (“to be too much; to exceed an appropriate degree”) follows it, the final い is dropped: 暑い → 暑すぎる. すぎます is the polite form of すぎる here. This pattern says that the degree of heat is excessive or beyond what is suitable. Example: この部屋は広すぎます。 means “This room is too spacious.” The sentence does not state an explicit noun or pronoun as its subject. 暑すぎます therefore naturally conveys a general judgment about the conditions: “It is too hot.” The adjective 暑い supplies the meaning “hot,” すぎる adds “too,” and ます makes the expression polite.

2. 寒すぎます。

   It is too cold.

   寒すぎます

   too cold

   More detail

   寒すぎます expresses “It is too cold.” The adjective 寒い means “cold” and describes low temperature. In this sentence, its final い is replaced by すぎ before ます: 寒い → 寒すぎます. 〜すぎる is a reusable pattern meaning “be too …” or “do … excessively.” With an adjective, attach it to the adjective stem: 暑い → 暑すぎる (“be too hot”), as in the preceding sentence. The polite form here is 〜すぎます; 寒すぎる is the plain form. ます makes the statement polite. Japanese can omit the subject when it is understood from the situation; here, the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning as “it” being too cold, without stating a noun in the Japanese sentence. Together, 寒い (“cold”) + 〜すぎます (“is too …,” polite) gives 寒すぎます: “It is too cold.”

3. 私はとても疲れています。

   I am very tired.

   私は

   I; as for me

   とても

   very

   疲れています

   am tired

   More detail

   私は combines 私 (“I; me”) with は, the topic marker. It presents the speaker as the topic, so 私は is a reusable “as for me, …” pattern. 私 does not mark grammatical gender or number here. For example, 私は学生です。 means “I am a student.” とても means “very” and intensifies the following description. It commonly appears before an adjective or another descriptive expression: とても暑いです。 means “It is very hot.” 疲れています is the polite form used here for “am tired.” Its base verb is 疲れる (“to become tired” or “to get tired”). The form 疲れています uses 疲れている, the ている form, to present the resulting state as current; ます makes the expression polite. Thus, in this sentence it describes the speaker’s present condition, not simply the event of becoming tired. A related contrast is 疲れました, which commonly presents becoming tired or having become tired as a completed event. For example, 今日は疲れました。 means “I got tired today.” Together, 私は sets the speaker as the topic, とても intensifies the condition, and 疲れています states that the speaker is currently tired. The whole utterance therefore means “I am very tired.”

4. 私はとてもお腹がすいています。

   I am very hungry.

   私は

   I; as for me

   とても

   very

   お腹

   stomach; belly

   すいています

   be hungry

   More detail

   私は combines 私, “I/me,” with は, the topic marker. It presents the speaker as the topic: “as for me, …”. は is not part of the pronoun itself. Example: 私は学生です。— “I am a student.” とても is an adverb meaning “very.” It strengthens the following description. Example: とても暑いです。— “It is very hot.” お腹 is the noun “stomach” or “belly.” In this utterance it appears in the common expression お腹がすく, literally describing the stomach as becoming empty and conventionally meaning “to get or feel hungry.” The particle が is not written in the supplied sentence, but the expression is also commonly seen as お腹がすく or お腹がすいています with が. すいています comes from the base form すく in this expression. Its て-form, すいて, combines with います to describe the resulting state that holds now; the polite ending ます makes the statement polite. Here it means “am hungry,” not the unrelated possible uses of すく in other contexts. Example: お腹がすいています。— “I am hungry.” Together, 私は marks the speaker as the topic, とても intensifies the condition, and お腹がすいています expresses the current state of hunger. The whole utterance therefore means “I am very hungry.”

5. 私はとても喉が渇いています。

   I am very thirsty.

   私は

   I; as for me

   とても

   very

   喉

   throat

   渇いています

   am thirsty

   More detail

   私は contains 私 (“I/me”) followed by the topic particle は, pronounced *wa* here. It presents the speaker as the topic: “as for me.” Japanese often omits this topic when it is already clear, but it is stated explicitly in this sentence. Example: 私は学生です。 — “I am a student.” とても is an adverb meaning “very.” It comes before the expression it intensifies. Example: とても暑いです。 — “It is very hot.” 喉 means “throat.” In the reusable expression 喉が渇く, the throat is marked with が, and 渇く literally describes becoming dry; together, the expression means “to become/be thirsty.” In this sentence, 喉が is explicitly present after とても; が is not merely understood. 渇いています is the polite form of 渇いている, from the verb 渇く. Here, -ている presents the resulting current state, so it means “am thirsty,” rather than focusing on the moment of becoming thirsty. The final ます makes the expression polite, while いる functions as the auxiliary in -ている; います is not the independent verb “to exist” in this use. Example: 水を飲んでいます。 — “I am drinking water.” Putting the parts together, 私は sets “I” as the topic, とても intensifies the condition, and 喉が渇いています expresses the current state of thirst. The whole utterance therefore means “I am very thirsty.”

6. 私は具合が悪いです。

   I am feeling sick.

   私は

   I; as for me

   具合

   condition; feeling

   悪い

   bad; unwell

   です

   polite sentence ending

   More detail

   私は contains 私 (“I”) followed by は, which marks the topic: “as for me.” 私 is a first-person pronoun; this form does not show the speaker’s number or gender. Example: 私は学生です。 — “I am a student.” 具合 means a condition or state, especially someone’s physical condition in this expression. It is a noun. Example: 具合を見ます。 — “I will check the condition.” 悪い means “bad” here and describes the condition as unfavorable. It is the non-past form of the Japanese adjective 悪い. In 具合が悪い, the pattern means that someone is feeling unwell. Example: 今日は具合が悪いです。 — “I feel unwell today.” です adds polite style to the statement here. With an i-adjective such as 悪い, it follows the adjective: 悪いです; the adjective remains 悪い, while です supplies the polite ending. It is not the part that carries the meaning “I”; the topic is supplied by 私は. Together, 私は具合が悪いです。 uses the topic “as for me,” the noun 具合 “condition,” and 悪い “bad” to say that the speaker is feeling sick. The ending です makes the utterance polite.