Grammar › Manner & Implication
極まる/極まりない — “extremely, in the extreme”
A formal intensifier that pushes a description to its most extreme point
Na-adjective stem + 極まる (or the equivalent 極まりない) intensifies a description to its most extreme, formal register — “extremely X” or “X in the extreme.” Both forms are interchangeable in meaning despite one being grammatically “positive” (極まる) and the other doubly negative (極まりない).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Na-adj stem + 極まる | 失礼極まる態度 — an attitude that's extremely rude |
| Na-adj stem + 極まりない | 危険極まりない行為 — an act that's dangerous in the extreme |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 彼の発言は失礼極まりない。 | かれのはつげんはしつれいきわまりない。 karenohatsugenhashitsureikiwamarinai。 | His remarks were extremely rude. |
| 単純極まる作業だった。 | たんじゅんきわまるさぎょうだった。 tanjunkiwamarusagyoudatta。 | It was an extremely simple task. |
| 彼女の勇気は感動極まりないものだった。 | かのじょのゆうきはかんどうきわまりないものだった。 kanojonoyuukihakandoukiwamarinaimonodatta。 | Her courage was moving in the extreme. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
極まる and 極まりない mean essentially the same thing despite looking like opposites — don't try to read a difference in meaning into the presence or absence of ない; it's a quirk of the fixed expression.