слишком vs чрезмерно
slishkom vs chrezmerno — too vs excessively
Register: neutral / formal
What it really means
Слишком is the ordinary conversational word for an excessive degree that causes a problem: too loud, too late, too much. Чрезмерно also means excessively, but is formal and evaluative, common in reports and abstract descriptions. Both can modify adjectives and adverbs; слишком often appears with чтобы for an impossible result.
Examples in natural speech
Здесь слишком шумно, чтобы работать.
It is too noisy to work here.
Ты слишком быстро говоришь.
You speak too quickly.
Чрезмерно высокая нагрузка вредна.
An excessively high workload is harmful.
Его чрезмерно осторожная политика замедлила проект.
His excessively cautious policy slowed the project.
Не клади слишком много соли.
Don't add too much salt.
Common mistakes
Use слишком in everyday warnings, not чрезмерно to sound artificially formal. Чрезмерно describes an objectively or rhetorically excessive degree; it is not the normal translation of every English “very.”
Memory tip
Слишком warns a listener; чрезмерно evaluates a quantity in polished prose.
Frequently asked questions
Does слишком always imply something bad?
Usually it marks excess relative to a desired limit, though playful contexts can use it approvingly, as in слишком красиво.
Can чрезмерно stand alone?
It can, but it most often modifies a quality or quantity: чрезмерно велик is less natural than чрезмерно большой.
What case follows слишком много?
A genitive quantity follows: слишком много сахара, слишком много людей.
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