に過ぎない

Meaning

に過ぎない expresses that something is merely or only a certain thing, no more significant than that. It emphasizes limitation in quantity, extent, or importance. This pattern often appears with adverbs like ただ (only) or ほんの (just/merely) to strengthen the sense of diminishment or insufficiency.

Formation

Examples

1. わが国は労働生産性が低いため、農産物は国内需要を満たすに過ぎないのが現状です。
   Because our country has low labor productivity, the current situation is that agricultural products merely satisfy domestic demand and nothing more.

2. 地球は宇宙のほんの小さな塵星に過ぎない。
   Earth is nothing but a tiny dust particle in the vast universe.

3. 彼はとても頭がよく、この難しいテスト問題が彼にとってはただの暇つぶしに過ぎない。
   He is very intelligent, so this difficult test question is merely a way to pass time for him.

Summary

• Use に過ぎない to indicate something is only, merely, or no more than a certain thing
• Can attach to verb dictionary/past form, i-adjectives, na-adjectives, and nouns
• Often paired with ただ or ほんの to emphasize the limited nature or small degree of something