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精々 (せいぜい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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この 仕し 事ごと は せいぜい 一いち 時じ 間かん で 終お わる 。
This work will take at most one hour.
His English is at best junior high school level.
Usage patterns せいぜい 〈 数かず 〉 ぐらいだ at most about 〈number〉
The bonus for this job is at most about 50,000 yen.
せいぜい 頑がん 張ば る to do the best one can (within one's limits)
I don't have much talent, but I intend to do my best anyway.
せいぜい 〈 数かず 〉 しかない there is no more than 〈number〉 at most
There's at most two days' worth of food in the fridge.
せいぜい 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 ことだ the best you can do is to ~ (often sarcastic)
If you're so confident, go ahead and do your best (we'll see).
Related words たかが dismisses something as trivial ('merely'), while 精々 more neutrally states the highest possible amount.
精一杯 emphasizes giving one's full effort with a positive, encouraging tone, while 精々 in this sense can also sound flat or even sarcastic.
できるだけ is the common, neutral way to say 'as much as possible', whereas 精々 in this sense often carries an extra nuance of urging someone within their limits.
せいぜい and 高々 both mean 'at most', but せいぜい often carries a nuance of 'at best' or 'doing one's utmost', while 高々 is a neutral statement of an upper limit.
Written forms 精せい 々ぜい Usage 3%
Standard kanji spelling, though the word is usually written in kana.
せいぜい Usage 96%
Kana spelling is the most common and recommended for learners.
セイゼイ Usage <1%
精せい 精ぜい Usage <1%
Alternate kanji spelling; less common than 精々.
Etymology Derived from reduplication of 精 (sei, 'spirit, energy'), with the meaning of 'with all one's might' evolving into the modern adverbial senses of 'at most' and 'as much as possible'.
