zu viele
/t͡suː ˈfiːlə/word by word
The English phrase "too many" is translated into German as zu viele.
Use zu viele to express that a quantity of something is excessive.
Meaning: excessive (det)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of zu, meaning "too" and viele, meaning "many".
Which one should you use?
Use zu viele when referring to countable nouns. For uncountable nouns, use zu viel (too much).
How does it change in a sentence?
The form zu viele is used specifically when the noun it refers to is plural.
How do you pronounce it?
/tsuː ˈfiːlə/
Did you know?
- German uses the word viel in the expression viel zu to mean 'far too', as in viel zu viele for 'far too many'.
- In colloquial German, people often shorten zu viele to just zu viel even for countable items, though this is grammatically incorrect in formal writing.
- While zu viele describes a quantity, the word viel can also be used in the phrase viel Glück to wish someone 'good luck' rather than 'much luck'.
Examples in context
- Es sind zu viele!There are too many of them.This sentence is useful for saying that there are too many of them using zu viele.Tatoeba #1791480 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1790759 by Spamster
- Es sind zu viele.There are too many.Tatoeba #7726689 by brauchinet, translation #13529412 by frpzzd
- Iß nicht zu viele!Don't eat too many.This sentence is useful for an instruction not to eat too many using zu viele.Tatoeba #14042676 by Waldelfe, translation #11934551 by CK
- Es gibt zu viele Menschen in diesem Raum.There are too many people in this room.
- Dieses Projekt erfordert übermäßig viele Ressourcen.This project requires too many resources.
- Es gibt zu viele Hausaufgaben.There are too many homework assignments.
- Im Supermarkt gibt es viel zu viele Menschen.There are way too many people in the supermarket.
- 164 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix are looking at a pile of files in an office.
- HannahFelix, sind das zu viele Dokumente?Felix, are those too many documents?
- FelixJa, das sind viel zu viele.Yes, there are far too many.
- HannahKann er uns helfen?Can he help us?
- FelixIch glaube, er ist zu beschäftigt.I think he is too busy.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (zu, viele) and can differ in connected speech.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
