Word
余計
Meaning in Englishtoo much, unnecessary, abundance, surplus, excess, superfluity
Animated kanji stroke order
Sentence
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Word context
What it means
What does 余計 mean? It denotes something excessive or unnecessary—more than what is needed or helpful—often perceived as overdone or gratuitous.
Main meanings
- excessiveness or overdoing in quantity or effort; unnecessary additions or actions
- adverbial use as 余計に meaning unnecessarily or more than required
- nominal sense of a surplus or extra amount in contexts like 余計な費用 or 余計な心配
How to use it
Used across casual and formal speech. As a na-adjective it modifies nouns with 余計な, and as an adverb it uses 余計に. It expresses disapproval of gratuitous actions or unnecessary measures, and is common in complaints and admonitions. In writing, prefer 余計な before a noun; in conversation, 余計だ expresses strong sentiment.
Variants and close terms
- 過剰 (kajou) — excessive
- 余分 (yobun) — extra; surplus
- 無用 (muyou) — useless; unnecessary
- Antónimo: 適度 (tekido) — moderate
Composition
- 余: remainder; surplus, what remains beyond what was used
- 計: count, measure, plan; used here to convey counting or calculation
- The combination signals that what remains is counted and found to be beyond what is needed
Word class
na-adjective (形容動詞) / noun (名詞)
Word
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N1
家計
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household economy, family finances
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生計
seikei
livelihood, living
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集計
shuukei
totalization, aggregate
N1
見計らう
mihakarau
to choose at one's own discretion
N1
余暇
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leisure, leisure time, spare time
N1
余興
yokyou
side show, entertainment
N1
余所見
yosomi
looking away, looking aside
N1
余地
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place, room, margin
N1
余程
yohodo
very, much, to a large extent, quite
Kanji