Level 1 · Beginner
Exclaiming with 太…了
太 + Adj. + 了
太…了 wraps an adjective to exclaim "too…!" or "so…!": 太贵了 "too expensive!", 太好了 "great!". Whether it's a complaint or delight depends on the adjective.
The 了 is part of the package — a bare 太贵 sounds clipped and unfinished. Negation drops the 了: 不太贵 "not too expensive".
Examples
太好了！
tài hǎo le
Great!
这个太贵了。
這個太貴了。
zhè ge tài guì le
This is too expensive.
今天太热了。
今天太熱了。
jīn tiān tài rè le
It's way too hot today.
这个菜不太好吃。
這個菜不太好吃。
zhè ge cài bù tài hǎo chī
This dish isn't very tasty.
Common mistakes
✗ 这个太贵。
✓ 这个太贵了。
太 + adjective wants 了 at the end to sound complete.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like This Is My Mom, This Is My Dad, The Kite inside the Literate Chinese app.
