"So" vs "Too" in English & Spanish

Question

My Spanish-speaking students use "too" instead of "so" when they're describing something: for instance, "It's so pretty" or "she's so fat." How can I explain, for them and for myself, the idea that "too" means "too much," like "criminally pretty" instead of "a lot, very"?
Mis estudientes mexicano usan "too" en vez de "so" cuando quieren describir algo que es muy, muy bonito o chistoso o precioso. Come ayudarles a entender la diferencia? Hay palabras diferentes con este matiz, de siguro'

Answer 1

You could probably use tan & demasiado to explain the difference.

Answer 2

I used to teach my Colombian students in the following way:

1. So = very. This is very simple

2. Too = you crossed a line, excessive. I use too to demostrate that the excess is something bad/negative.

e.g.
So hot = very hot

Too hot = The temperature has passed a point where the heat becomes unbearable. I can no longer take the heat. This is a negative comment.

e.g.

He is so rich = He has a lot of money

He is too rich = He has more money than is necessary. The money is turning him into a bad person or is changing him. ( His wealth passed a limit to where it is something negative.)

Obviously, there are exceptions where we use too as an exaggeration, but not all the time.

You could use tan and demasiado, but, for example in Colombia, their meanings are very similar and people don´t grasp the different that is more evident in English. I don´t know if the same is true for Mexicans.

Hope this helps

• Good explanation :) - 0075c9ad Oct 20, 2009
• This is slang, but keep in mind "too cool" meaning so cool. - morphine Oct 20, 2009
• You can't teach slang in a classroom. It'll "blow their poor minds". - Stobber Oct 20, 2009

Answer 3

Think of so and too as each being used in the first part of a two-part sentence, with so being coupled with "that," and too with "to." These couplets sort of have Spanish counterparts, which might help your students remember them.

She's so fat...that she can't fit through the doorway.
Es tan gorda...que no puede pasar por la puerta.
It's so pretty...that it makes me want to cry.
Es tan lindo...que me hace querer llorar.

He is too poor...to buy a new car.
Es muy pobre...para comprar un nuevo coche.
It's too hot...to go outside.
Hace mucho calor...para salir.

Answer 4

swally, I am impressed, you certainly know what you are talking about.

Answer 5

Such a simple answer. I'll bet they like "too" because it sounds like "tan" and lives in the same space in their brain... gracias. Como yo prefiere decir "es si divertido" porque he esenado por ingles de algun modo.... quizas de frances....

Answer 6

Thanks, I appreciate it. I taught English for 2 years in Colombia and learned a few tricks along the way : )

te cuidas

Answer 7

He is too poor...to buy a new car.
Es muy pobre...para comprar un nuevo coche.
It's too hot...to go outside.
Hace mucho calor...para salir.

Hi James, but here the "damasiado" is mssing...

Es demasiado pobre para...
Hace demasiado calor..

Es muy pobre, hace mucho calor is not the same.

Answer 8

Hmmm, I hate to argue with a native speaker, but all the native speakers who taught me Spanish disagree with you. I'm not saying that demasiado can't be used, but muy/mucho is VERY common in Spanish to express the concept of "too." At least here in the Americas.

Another example: Es muy tarde para eso = It's too late for that (in most contexts)

Answer 9

Gracias a todos, this is great. Uds son tan generosos con sus atenciones.... demasiado generosos.
I like the nuance of the negative implication. For everything except exaggeration of the positive, it's perfect... y tambian seria claro para los jovenes.
Por ejemplo, significa que no me gusta or no es normal... es negativo en algun manera. Es una buena explicacion, por que mis estudiantes no quieren ser negativo, quieren dar un cumplimiento.

Answer 10

...mis estudiantes no quieren ser negativo, quieren dar un cumplimiento.

They have probably heard people say things like "Oh, she is just TOO cute!" It's understandable that that would confuse them.

Answer 11

Gracias, me gustan sus ejemplos. Puedo usarlos palabra-por-palabra! Y entonces crecemos frases en ingles, si? Como...

That is so expensive... but I'm going to buy it anyway.
That is too expensive... I just can't get it.

Parece que a veces en espanol, dar un significacion intensivo.... interesante.
It really helps to have a million examples, we all learn shades of meaning this way, no'

Answer 12

Se ha explicado el uso de "so" como "muy", "too" como "demasiado", lo que en inglés parece correcto, pero en español éstos no se pueden usar asociados a adjetivos calificativos como bonito, gordo, feo, si se busca ser correcto.
Esa chica es bonita > Esa chica es demasiado bonita.
Ese carro es feo > Ese carro es demasiado feo.
Simplemente no suena natural.

Answer 13

I don't, but that's obvious.

I wonder

Would you consider correct:

He is very old to buy a car.

I suppose there is a difference between saying that and :

he is too old to buy a car.

or not'? Actually, the first sentence sounds as weird in English to me as it does in Spanish.

Answer 14

He is very old to buy a car.
I suppose there is a difference between saying that and :
He is too old to buy a car.

Yes, there is in English, although the difference is subtle and maybe not very important.

If an 80-year-old bought a car, and I said "He is very old to buy a car," it would mean that I am surprised that someone his age bought a car, but it would be neutral as to whether I thought that was good or bad. If I said "He is too old to buy a car," it would be clear that I thought he was wrong to do that, since it might be dangerous for him to drive. Or, it would mean that I think there is something preventing him from buying a car; maybe there is a law against it, or I think that old people have no money, or something like that.

I'm very surprised that you haven't heard muy/mucho used to mean "too." Is this a geographical difference? It is so common here. In fact, I have always thought that one sure way to spot a gringo speaking Spanish is to listen for "demasiado," which we gringos tend to overuse.

Answer 15

Oh no! Now I have to avoid this nice word I've memorized??? Geez.

Strangely, when I lived in Kenya a Swahili-speaking fellow I knew used to mess up TOO and VERY in English, he used to say "I like you too much." I used to correct his English....

"You mean, you like me SO much. Not TOO much, that doesn't make sense."

Yo no fue muy romantica....

Oops, yo no estaba romántica...