This means something is 'only' or 'just' what you said. It shows that it is not very important or special.
Noun + にすぎないPrimary
Verb [dictionary form] + にすぎない
Verb [た-form] + にすぎない
This means something is 'only' or 'just' what you said. It shows that it is not very important or special.
私は当たり前のことをしたにすぎない。
I merely did what was expected/obvious.
これは私の個人的な意見にすぎませんから、あまり気にしないでください。
This is merely my personal opinion, so please don't worry about it too much.
彼の成功は幸運にすぎないということはない。彼の長年の努力の結果だ。
It is not the case that his success is merely luck. It is the result of his many years of effort.
会議の出席者はわずか5名にすぎなかった。
The attendees of the meeting were merely five people.
彼らが要求しているのは、法律上の権利を認めてもらうこと、ただそれにすぎない。
What they are demanding is to have their legal rights recognized, and it is nothing more than that.
This phrase makes something seem small. It says something is not as important as you might think. It can make you sound humble. Or it can make something else sound unimportant.
This is different from 〜に他ならない (ni hoka naranai). That means "it is exactly X." This phrase, 〜にすぎない, means "it is only X." It makes something seem less important. For example, you might say "That is just an excuse." You can also use 〜だけだ (dake da). But 〜にすぎない sounds more formal.
Don't use this when you want to say "I only want to..." or "Just do this." For example, you cannot say "〜たいにすぎない."
Use this when you want to say something is just a small thing. It means it is "only" or "nothing more than" what you say. You use it to make something seem less important.
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