Quá (Adv)

Situations

S1: Nam finished only two exercises in two hours while others finished more. The teacher said:

Em Nam làm chậm quá!
(Nam, you are very slow!)

Nam's speed was below the expected standard.

S2: Nam and Lan are traveling by train. Lan says excitedly:

Ôi, rừng núi đẹp quá!
(Oh, the mountains are so beautiful!)

Lan uses quá because she is excited by the beauty.

S3: Lan tells Hoa about a concert she enjoyed.

Chị không đi xem thật là đáng tiếc. Chương trình hay quá!
(It's too bad you didn't go; the program was very exciting!)

Lan is still excited about the concert.

S4: Nam wants to buy a dictionary that costs 200,000 VND.

Quyển từ điển này tốt, nhưng quá mắc, tôi mua không nổi.
(The dictionary is good, but it's too expensive; I can't afford it.)

Quá indicates a degree beyond Nam's capacity or a normal limit.

Definition

Quá, as an adverb, is used to indicate a degree that the speaker considers above normal, over the limit, or beyond their capacity.

NOTE: Quá is often used after an adjective or modal verb in exclamatory sentences to express feelings about something currently or recently perceived.

  • quá, rất, lắm, hơi, khá: Quá and lắm are frequent in speech. Lắm is more common in narration or commentary on a value, while quá is used in exclamations. Rất is neutral and can appear in most situations.
[1a] Cô ấy đẹp lắm! (She is very pretty - narration/remark.)
[1b] Cô ấy rất đẹp. (She is very pretty - neutral description.)

Cf. lắm2 (p. 201), rất (p. 323).

Combinations

  • Quá is often used in exclamatory sentences ending with a "!".
  • quá... để...:
[1] Cô ấy quá trẻ để đảm nhận chức vụ này.
    (She is too young to take charge of this post.)
  • quá chừng, quá cỡ, quá mức, quá sức, quá trời, quá thể, quá đỗi:
[2] Bữa tiệc tối hôm qua vui quá chừng. (The party was so much fun.)
[5] Chương trình ca nhạc tối hôm qua hay quá sức. (The show was very exciting.)
[6] Tôi chờ anh lâu quá trời. (I've been waiting ages.)
[8] Nhận được thư gia đình họ vui mừng quá đỗi. (They were overjoyed.)
  • (X) quá là (X) (spoken):
[9] Hay quá là hay! (It's so good!)
  • quá lắm (cũng) (chỉ) (X): (X is the absolute limit.)
[10] Cô ấy quá lắm cũng chỉ 28, chứ không đến 30 đâu.
     (She is 28 at most; she can't be 30.)
[11] Anh đừng lo, quá lắm bảy giờ là xong.
     (Don't worry, it will be done by seven o'clock at the latest.)

In spoken Vietnamese, when following an action verb, quá indicates doing something beyond an allowed degree:

[12] Anh đừng nói quá! (Don't exaggerate!)
[13] Sao em làm quá vậy! (Why are you making such a fuss?)