Lesson 21
The extreme: utterly / the height of
- 1 〜かぎりだ ~kagiri da I feel extremely ~ Your own feeling — joy, loneliness, regret — at its strongest, said in a calm, grown-up way.
- 2 〜極まりない ~kiwamarinai utterly ~ / ~ in the extreme A stiff, written way to criticise someone's behaviour or a situation as 'beyond all limits'.
- 3 〜ことこの上ない ~koto kono ue nai nothing could be more ~ 'There is nothing above this' — a formal way to say something good or bad is at its peak.
- 4 〜の極み ~no kiwami the height of ~ After a noun, 'the very peak of it' — luxury, exhaustion or joy at its limit.
- 5 〜の至り ~no itari utmost ~ (one's own feeling, formal) A ready-made phrase for speeches, thanks and apologies — your own feeling in the most humble, formal words.
Lesson check
All 5 forms of this lesson together — pick the right one from its look-alikes, the way the exam does. 6/8 completes the lesson.
🔒
「来日したばかりで友達もいないのは、心細い＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Your own feeling, straight after an い-adjective.
心細い限りだ = I feel utterly helpless. 「の至り」「の極み」only follow nouns, and 「極まりない」needs 「こと」after an い-adj and is for criticism.
「歩きながらたばこを吸うのは、危険＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Harsh criticism of behaviour, straight after a kanji な-adjective.
危険極まりない = extremely dangerous. 「限りだ」is for your feelings and needs 「な」, 「の至り」is a humble feeling, and 「ことこの上ない」needs 「な」before it (危険なことこの上ない).
「高級ホテルのスイートに一週間泊まるとは、贅沢の＿＿だ。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:'The summit of luxury' — the wide form that follows a noun.
贅沢の極み = the height of luxury. 至り only goes with a few humble-feeling words (光栄・恐縮), and 「極まり」「この上」are not used as nouns like this.
An award speech: 「このような賞をいただき、光栄の＿＿＿です。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A noun is needed after 「の」— the set phrase of speeches.
光栄の至りです = it is the greatest honour. The other three are adjectives and can't follow 「の」.
「深夜まで隣の部屋がうるさく、迷惑な＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Which form attaches right after the 「な」of 「迷惑な」?
迷惑なことこの上ない = it could not be more annoying. After 「な」, 「極まりない」needs 「こと」(迷惑なこと極まりない), and 「の至り」「の極み」only follow a noun with 「の」.
「十代のころ、親とけんかして家出したのは、＿＿＿だった。」— the idiom for 'the folly of youth'?
💡 Hint:A set idiom built from 「至る」.
若気の至り = the folly of youth — this idiom only exists with 「至り」; nobody says 「若気の極み」.
Which sentence is unnatural?
💡 Hint:Other people's physical state — 極み or 至り?
至り is only for your own humble feelings (光栄・恐縮); the players' tiredness is a state, so 「疲労の極み」.
「新しい先輩はとても頼りになり、心強い＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A good (plus) thing, straight after an い-adjective.
心強いことこの上ない = I couldn't feel more reassured — it works for plus things too. 「極まりない」needs 「こと」after an い-adj and is mostly criticism; 「の至り」「の極み」only follow nouns.
Your score: /8