にすぎないmerely; no more than
No more than this. にすぎない cuts something down to its true size: only a rumor, only one example, only two in ten.
This figure is only one part of the whole.
He did not speak on behalf of the organization; he merely described his own experience.
How to form it
Noun／amount／verb plain form + にすぎない
Also written に過ぎない. Polite にすぎません, past にすぎなかった, in mid-sentence にすぎず.
- Before it
- Something small, or smaller than it looks: うわさ (a rumor), 一例 (one example), 推定 (an estimate), 二割 (twenty percent).
- Often with
- ただの or 単なる ("mere") before the noun, わずか before an amount.
- Tone
- Cool and exact: it corrects an overstatement, usually without contempt. About yourself it is modest: 一社員にすぎません, "I'm only an employee".
- Where you'll meet it
- News, reports, essays, careful speech. In conversation people say ただの…だ or …だけだ.
In use
That is nothing more than a rumor.
Only twenty percent of those registered took part.
I am only the contact person, so I cannot make decisions about the contract terms.
Three that look alike
にすぎない, でしかない and にほかならない look like three ways to say "merely". Only the first two are: they play a thing down. にほかならない plays nothing down: it says exactly what something is.
This agreement is only a first step toward peace.
Plays it down: a start, and no more than that. Mostly written.
This agreement is nothing more than a first step toward peace.
Plays it down harder, and brushes it off. Spoken too.
This agreement is nothing less than the first step toward peace.
Plays nothing down: this is the first step, and it matters. Written.
After a verb
にすぎない can follow a verb, to say that this is all someone did. でしかない can't.
I only passed on what the person in charge said.
Close neighbours
でしかないN2
"Nothing but". After a noun or an amount, never a verb.
That statement is nothing more than a personal opinion.
にほかならないN2
"Nothing other than", "precisely". After a noun, or a reason with から.
This achievement is precisely the fruit of years of steady effort.
だけN5
The plain "only": a limit and nothing more. にすぎない adds that it isn't much.
I work only on Sundays.
ただの・たったN3
Everyday words: ただの before a thing, "just a"; たった before an amount, "a mere".
That's just a rumor.
Check yourself
1What does the writer think of the number?
賛成したのは、
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
私は
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
This is merely the most plausible explanation at present, not a conclusion.
This figure is merely an estimate at the present stage.
The cause of the malfunction was nothing more than an error in one line of the configuration file.
The article merely summarizes the facts that were made public.
We did not rebuild the entire system. This change merely altered the way information is displayed.