CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

过犹不及 (guò yóu bù jí)

too much is as bad as not enough

Plain Answer

Source: Classical moderation phrase associated with Confucian teaching. Treated here as proverb image; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 过犹不及 means too much is as bad as not enough: Used when going beyond the right degree creates a problem just as serious as falling short.

Practice this meaning
Label
neutral / common formal
Best objects
study balance, education balance, meaning boundary
Do not use when
Do not use 过犹不及 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 物极必反 or the contrast points toward 一丝不苟, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 过犹不及 when the study balance sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 过犹不及 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

study balance练习太少不行，练到完全睡不够也是过犹不及。Lianxi tai shao buxing, lian dao wanquan shui bugou ye shi guo you bu ji.Too little practice is bad, but practicing until sleep collapses is also harmful excess.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 物极必反 before practicing 过犹不及 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 物极必反, 刚柔并济, 画蛇添足

Read This First

过犹不及 is introduced here through a proverb or image-based phrase with a learner-safe source boundary; the source label is Classical moderation phrase associated with Confucian teaching, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

过犹不及 means too much is as bad as not enough. The important first reading is Used when going beyond the right degree creates a problem just as serious as falling short. This is a neutral phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 过犹不及 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as study balance, education balance, meaning boundary; then compare 物极必反 and 刚柔并济 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 过犹不及 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: study balance plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used when going beyond the right degree creates a problem just as serious as falling short.

Literal meaning

excess is like insufficiency

  • 过 / go beyond
  • 犹 / still like
  • 不及 / not reaching enough

English equivalents

  • too much is as bad as not enough near

    Use this when going beyond the right degree creates a problem comparable to not doing enough.

  • excess can be harmful plain

    too much is as bad as not enough is direct, while beyond the right measure is more formal

  • beyond the right measure plain

    This is safer when the audience needs the meaning without extra cultural explanation.

How To Use It

Use 过犹不及 when the reader can see why too much is as bad as not enough is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it when going beyond the right degree creates a problem comparable to not doing enough.
  • The tone is balanced and corrective, so the surrounding sentence should make the judgment visible.
  • It works in study balance, education balance, meaning boundary contexts when the boundary is clear.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 过犹不及 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 物极必反 or the contrast points toward 一丝不苟, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it when the sentence simply praises excellence, carefulness, or high standards without harmful excess.
  • Do not choose it only because the English gloss "too much is as bad as not enough" feels close; compare wu-ji-bi-fan first.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 过犹不及.

    The sentence drops in 过犹不及 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for too much is as bad as not enough appears before or after the phrase.

    过犹不及 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare wu ji bi fan

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 过犹不及 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 过犹不及, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 一丝不苟 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    过犹不及 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare yi si bu gou

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 过犹不及 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 过犹不及 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a balanced and corrective judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 刚柔并济 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    过犹不及 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare gang rou bing ji

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 过犹不及 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 滴水不漏, use that contrast instead.

    过犹不及 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare di shui bu lou

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 过犹不及 with nearby learner choices

    过犹不及 is often studied beside 物极必反 and 刚柔并济 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释过犹不及，再比较物极必反和刚柔并济，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    wu ji bi fangang rou bing ji

  2. 过犹不及 with contrast checks

    过犹不及 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 画蛇添足 and 一丝不苟; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用过犹不及造句，再换成画蛇添足，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    hua she tian zuyi si bu gouwu ji bi fan

  3. 过犹不及 in example-building drills

    过犹不及 should be practiced with 物极必反 and 画蛇添足 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用过犹不及写一个有证据的句子，再换成物极必反或画蛇添足说明判断为什么改变。

    wu ji bi fanhua she tian zugang rou bing ji

  4. 过犹不及 in story and source review

    过犹不及 links best with 刚柔并济 and 一丝不苟 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背过犹不及的故事，还要比较刚柔并济，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    gang rou bing jiyi si bu gouwu ji bi fan

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

Use 过犹不及 when going beyond the right degree creates a problem comparable to not doing enough. This first test keeps the phrase from spreading across every nearby topic. Before using it, identify the speaker, the object being judged, and the reason a plain word would miss the Chinese nuance.

For English translation, too much is as bad as not enough is direct, while beyond the right measure is more formal. Do not choose an English phrase only because it sounds idiomatic. The translation should preserve tone, register, and the situation logic before it tries to sound compact.

The main misuse risk is when the sentence simply praises excellence, carefulness, or high standards without harmful excess. That boundary matters because chengyu often share a theme while judging different causes, time points, or social attitudes. A nearby phrase can be familiar and still be wrong.

Before using it in your own sentence, show the target degree, the shortfall, and the excess that becomes a different problem. Then compare the sentence with wu-ji-bi-fan and gang-rou-bing-ji. If one nearby entry explains the situation with less force or more precision, choose that entry instead.

Before using 过犹不及, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 过犹不及 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 过犹不及 with 物极必反 and 一丝不苟 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 过犹不及, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

study balance is the first test zone for 过犹不及, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: study balance, education balance, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction. Then choose among too much is as bad as not enough, excess can be harmful, beyond the right measure as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with wu-ji-bi-fan and gang-rou-bing-ji; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 过犹不及 is translated as too much is as bad as not enough, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep balanced and corrective and the wisdom use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it when the sentence simply praises excellence, carefulness, or high standards without harmful excess.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

study balance

练习太少不行，练到完全睡不够也是过犹不及。

Lianxi tai shao buxing, lian dao wanquan shui bugou ye shi guo you bu ji.

Too little practice is bad, but practicing until sleep collapses is also harmful excess.

education balance

提醒孩子要细心是好事，但检查每个字到焦虑，就是过犹不及。

Tixing haizi yao xixin shi haoshi, dan jiancha mei ge zi dao jiaolü, jiushi guo you bu ji.

Telling a child to be careful is good, but checking every word until anxiety appears goes beyond the right measure.

meaning boundary

过犹不及说的是程度失衡，不是反对认真。

Guo you bu ji shuo de shi chengdu shiheng, bushi fandui renzhen.

过犹不及 is about imbalance of degree; it is not an argument against being serious.

usage boundary

只有原因和语气都清楚时，这句话才适合用过犹不及。

zhi you yuan yin he yu qi dou qing chu shi zhe ju hua cai shi he yong guo you bu ji

Only use 过犹不及 when the cause and tone are both clear, not just because the topic feels nearby.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说过犹不及。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo guo you bu ji

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 过犹不及 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写过犹不及。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie guo you bu ji

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 过犹不及 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以过犹不及读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi guo you bu ji du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 过犹不及 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用过犹不及造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong guo you bu ji zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 过犹不及.

Story and Cultural Context

The phrase is often taught as a moderation judgment: exceeding the right degree can miss the mark just as much as not reaching it. The important word is degree, not effort. Modern learners usually need the phrase as a decision tool. It tells them when a situation has crossed a specific boundary, not merely which English word looks similar. In the examples here, the phrase is tested against study balance, education balance, meaning boundary so the reader can see how the meaning changes with use. The safest reading is to keep the image, the tone, and the social situation together. The phrase is often taught as a moderation judgment: exceeding the right degree can miss the mark just as much as not reaching it. The important word is degree, not effort. For English speakers, the useful memory is not only the literal image but the decision it makes possible. The examples test study balance, education balance, meaning boundary so the phrase remains tied to real use instead of becoming a decorative translation label. For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 过犹不及 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The image-based usage route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 过犹不及 through study balance, education balance, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 过犹不及 can point toward too much is as bad as not enough, excess can be harmful, beyond the right measure, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 过犹不及 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 物极必反 and 刚柔并济 and with 一丝不苟 and 滴水不漏 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 过犹不及 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: The right measure matters because excess can create its own failure.

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

过犹不及 should first be read as a decision about too much is as bad as not enough, not as a collectible story label. The image logic helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a neutral judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 过犹不及 deliberately cover study balance, education balance, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 过犹不及, compare it with 物极必反 and 刚柔并济 and, when possible, with 一丝不苟 and 滴水不漏. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

过犹不及 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

过犹不及 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first