Quá (V)

Situations

S1: Bảo is sixteen and cannot attend a tournament for eleven to fifteen-year-olds.

Bảo đã quá tuổi tham gia cuộc thi này.
(Bảo is over the age limit to attend this tournament.)

Quá indicates that Bảo's age is over the set limit.

S2: Hoa is worried about her ten-year-old son's weight.

Cháu mới 10 tuổi mà nặng quá 50 ký rồi.
(He's only ten years old, but his weight is over fifty kilos.)

The weight is above what is considered normal for that age.

Definition

Quá, as a verb, is used to indicate something being above a lawful/allowed limit or a standard.

  • quá and hơn: If what follows indicates a degree of comparison rather than a strict limit, quá can sometimes be replaced by hơn.
[1] Con gà này có lẽ quá / hơn ba ký.
    (This chicken likely weighs over three kilos.)
[2a] Anh ấy hơn 30 tuổi. (He is more than thirty - e.g., 31, 32.)
[2b] Anh ấy quá 30 tuổi. (He is beyond the age of thirty - e.g., and thus cannot join an age-limited group.)
[3] Anh ấy hơn / *quá tôi hai tuổi. (He is two years older than I am.)

Hơn expresses being higher in comparison, while quá implies exceeding a limit.

Combinations

  • Quá is often combined with nouns to form idiomatic expressions:
- quá chén: to be drunk
- quá cỡ: oversized
- quá tuổi: over age
- quá hạn: past expiration date
- quá đáng: excessive / going too far
- quá sức: too difficult / beyond strength

[1] Tối hôm qua ông ta quá chén, không về nhà được.
[3] Thuốc quá hạn, không uống được. (The medicine is expired.)
[5] Anh nói thế là quá đáng. (What you said goes too far!)
[7] Việc này quá sức tôi. (This is beyond my ability.)