过于 / 尤其 / 稍 / 够…的: too, especially, slightly, quite
【五03】【五28】程度副词、固定格式 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
过于 (too), 尤其 (especially), 稍 (slightly) and 够…的 (pretty) help you judge with nuance:
• 过于 = “too, excessively”: it almost always flags a fault (过于夸张, too exaggerated).
• 尤其 (是) = “especially, in particular”: it picks one case out of a group (她喜欢运动，尤其是游泳). On its own, 尤其如此 = “this is especially true”.
• 稍 = “a little, slightly”, the written short form of 稍微 (hsk3-g16): 稍等 (just a moment), 稍大一点 (a bit bigger), 节奏稍慢.
• 够…的 = “pretty, really”, a spoken pattern with an emphatic or teasing tone: 这本书够难的. The final 的 is part of the pattern.
过于 is more measured and more written than 太: 太 can also be a compliment (太好了!), 过于 never is. For a plain “very”, use 很 or 特别. Do not confuse 够…的 with 够 “to be enough” (钱够了: I have enough money).
Examples
请稍等，我马上回来。
Qǐng shāo děng, wǒ mǎshàng huílái.Please wait a moment, I'll be right back.
她喜欢运动，尤其是游泳。
Tā xǐhuan yùndòng, yóuqí shì yóuyǒng.She likes sports, especially swimming.
这本书够难的，我看了一个星期。
Zhè běn shū gòu nán de, wǒ kàn le yí ge xīngqī.This book is pretty hard: it took me a week to read.
这件衣服稍大一点，有小一点的吗？
Zhè jiàn yīfu shāo dà yìdiǎn, yǒu xiǎo yìdiǎn de ma?This piece is a bit big. Do you have a smaller one?
这个故事过于复杂，观众很难看懂。
Zhège gùshi guòyú fùzá, guānzhòng hěn nán kàndǒng.The story is too complicated, and the audience will struggle to follow it.
对孩子的要求不能过于严格，尤其是在学习上。
Duì háizi de yāoqiú bù néng guòyú yángé, yóuqí shì zài xuéxí shang.You should not be too strict with children, especially about their studies.
Common mistakes
✗ 这部电影过于好看 → ✓ 这部电影特别好看 (过于 marks an excess, so it suits faults like 过于夸张, not compliments).
✗ 这本书够难 → ✓ 这本书够难的 (to say “pretty hard”, the final 的 is needed).
✗ 这件衣服贵稍一点 → ✓ 这件衣服稍贵一点 (稍 goes before the adjective).