"Das ist mir zu teuer": How to Say Something Is Too Much in German

To say that something is too much for you, such as too expensive, too loud, or too big, German uses sein (to be) + a Dativ pronoun + zu (too) + an adjective: Das ist mir zu teuer (That's too expensive for me).

In this sentence, the thing is the subject. The person, mir (for me), is in the Dativ.

This post shows you how to build the pattern, a second way to say the same thing with the verb finden, and the mistakes to avoid.

Try it first

In each sentence, one word is missing. The wrong options are forms that learners often choose, so read the short reason after each answer.

If some of those felt like guesses, here is the rule behind them.

The pattern: sein + Dativ + zu + adjective

The basic shape is: thing + sein (to be) + person in Dativ + zu (too) + adjective.

Thing, the subject	sein	Person in Dativ	zu + adjective
Die Jacke	ist	mir	zu klein.
Das Konzert	ist	uns	zu laut.
Die Schuhe	sind	ihm	zu groß.

The German sentence starts with the thing that causes the problem. You are not the subject. In English, you say "too small for me." In German, the person comes before zu: Die Jacke ist mir zu klein (The jacket is too small for me).

Here are some useful examples:

German	English
Das ist mir zu teuer.	That's too expensive for me.
Der Tee ist mir zu heiß.	The tea is too hot for me.
Die Suppe ist ihm zu scharf.	The soup is too spicy for him.
Der Bus ist ihr zu langsam.	The bus is too slow for her.
Die Schlange ist uns zu lang.	The queue is too long for us.
Der Winter hier ist mir zu dunkel.	The winter here is too dark for me.

The verb agrees with the thing, not with the person. Die Schuhe sind mir zu groß means "The shoes are too big for me," because die Schuhe is plural.

Compare that with Der Schal ist mir zu kurz (The scarf is too short for me). Der Schal is singular, so you use ist.

Two ways to say the same thing

In German, finden (to find, to think) is also used to give an opinion. It can mean "I think something is ..."

You can say Das Konzert ist mir zu laut (The concert is too loud for me). You can also say Ich finde das Konzert zu laut (I think the concert is too loud). The meaning is the same.

With sein, the person is in Dativ: mir, ihr, uns. With finden, the person is the subject: ich, sie, wir. The thing then goes in Akkusativ.

With sein	With finden	English
Das Konzert ist mir zu laut.	Ich finde das Konzert zu laut.	I think the concert is too loud.
Der Film ist ihr zu lang.	Sie findet den Film zu lang.	She thinks the film is too long.
Die Musik ist uns zu laut.	Wir finden die Musik zu laut.	We think the music is too loud.
Die Suppe ist ihm zu scharf.	Er findet die Suppe zu scharf.	He thinks the soup is too spicy.

Notice the masculine noun in this pair: der Film becomes den Film after finden. Feminine and neuter nouns do not change here: die Musik and das Konzert stay the same.

You can also use a pronoun. Der Film ist mir zu lang means "The film is too long for me." Ich finde ihn zu lang means "I think it is too long."

If you want to see what Dativ and Akkusativ are and why nouns change, read our German cases post.

The Dativ pronouns you need

The person in the ist mir zu pattern is always a Dativ pronoun or a noun in the Dativ. For pronouns, you only need to match the person with the right form.

Subject form	Dativ form	Example
ich (I)	mir	Das ist mir zu teuer.
du (you)	dir	Ist dir das zu kalt?
er (he)	ihm	Das ist ihm zu laut.
sie (she)	ihr	Das ist ihr zu spät.
es (it)	ihm	Rare in this pattern
wir (we)	uns	Das ist uns zu weit.
ihr (you, plural)	euch	Ist euch das zu schwer?
sie (they)	ihnen	Das ist ihnen zu teuer.
Sie (you, formal)	Ihnen	Ist Ihnen das zu teuer?

You can use a noun instead of a pronoun. Das Buch ist meinem Bruder zu schwer (The book is too difficult for my brother). Das Spiel ist meiner Tochter zu langweilig (The game is too boring for my daughter).

These are the article forms you need:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
the	dem	der	dem	den + -n on the noun
my	meinem	meiner	meinem	meinen + -n on the noun

For example, you can say meinem Vater (my father), meiner Mutter (my mother), dem Kind (the child), and den Kindern (the children).

The pattern stays the same with a noun:

German	English
Das Buch ist meinem Bruder zu schwer.	The book is too difficult for my brother.
Das Spiel ist meiner Tochter zu langweilig.	The game is too boring for my daughter.
Der Weg ist den Kindern zu weit.	The way is too far for the children.

For the full Dativ story, including verbs such as gefallen and schmecken, see German dative verbs and pronouns.

Why zu is always negative here

In this pattern, zu (too) means more than you want. It always describes a problem.

Sehr (very) is different. It can be neutral or positive. Compare these pairs:

With sehr	With zu	Difference
Der Kuchen ist sehr süß.	Der Kuchen ist mir zu süß.	The cake is very sweet, or it is too sweet for me.
Die Wohnung ist sehr groß.	Die Wohnung ist mir zu groß.	The flat is very big, or it is too big for me.

If you want to praise something, do not use zu. Das Essen ist zu gut sounds wrong if you mean "The food is very good." Say Das Essen ist sehr gut (The food is very good).

For a positive opinion, use finden or gefallen (to please, to be liked). Ich finde den Park schön means "I think the park is nice." Der Park gefällt mir means "I like the park."

Do not say Der Park ist mir schön. This pattern is for a complaint with zu.

A few adjectives can take a Dativ person without zu. For example, Das ist mir wichtig means "That's important to me." Das ist mir egal means "I don't care" or "It's all the same to me."

The word zu also has other meanings, including as a preposition and before infinitives. This post only covers zu + adjective, meaning "too."

Word order and questions

Usually, the thing comes first: Das ist mir zu teuer (That's too expensive for me). But you can put the Dativ person first when you want to stress who has the problem.

Mir ist das zu teuer, aber ihm nicht means "It's too expensive for me, but not for him."

Questions are simple. Put the verb first:

German question	English
Ist dir das zu kalt?	Is that too cold for you?
Ist Ihnen das zu teuer?	Is that too expensive for you?

To say that something is not too much, put nicht before zu: Das ist mir nicht zu teuer (That's not too expensive for me).

You can use the same pattern in the past. Der Film war mir zu lang means "The film was too long for me." With a plural subject, say Die Tage waren uns zu kurz (The days were too short for us).

Mistakes English speakers make

These mistakes are common because English builds the idea differently.

Wrong	Right	Why
Das ist mich zu teuer.	Das ist mir zu teuer.	The person is Dativ, so use mir, not Akkusativ mich.
Ich bin die Jacke zu klein.	Die Jacke ist mir zu klein.	The jacket is the subject. Ich bin zu klein means that you are too small.
Die Schuhe ist mir zu groß.	Die Schuhe sind mir zu groß.	Die Schuhe is plural, so the verb is sind.
Ich finde der Film zu lang.	Ich finde den Film zu lang.	With finden, the thing is Akkusativ.
Der Kuchen ist zu lecker.	Der Kuchen ist sehr lecker.	Zu means there is a problem.

You may also hear Das ist zu teuer für mich (That's too expensive for me). That is correct German too, so don't worry if it comes out first. Das ist mir zu teuer is shorter, and once you know it you can say it without thinking.

Practise it out loud

Try saying these everyday complaints out loud. You can change the nouns and adjectives for many other situations.

Die Schlange ist mir zu lang. (The queue is too long for me.)
Der Tee ist mir zu heiß. (The tea is too hot for me.)
Der Kaffee ist mir zu stark. (The coffee is too strong for me.)
Das Fahrrad ist meiner Schwester zu groß. (The bike is too big for my sister.)
Die Musik ist mir zu laut. (The music is too loud for me.)
Der Schal ist mir zu kurz. (The scarf is too short for me.)
Heute ist es mir zu kalt. (It's too cold for me today.)

Pick three things around you right now and say one complaint about each one out loud with mir ... zu. Then change one sentence into a finden sentence.

For more words to put after zu, use the A2 adjectives list. If mir, dir, and ihm still feel slow, practise them again with German dative verbs and pronouns.