How to use the word ''Amari'' and "Juushi suru" in a sentence

Question

Was wondering if someone here could help me know how to use the word AMARI in a sentence. And also, the word JUUSHI SURU which means "to emphasize". I couldnt find out when to use the word.

仕事で人の間違いを重視するあまり仕事が楽しくなくなった。
At work, people focus too much on other's mistakes so work became unenjoyable.

Please let me know if my japanese grammar is correct, if not please correct me 🙏🙆

Answer 1

あまり means "so ～ (that ～)", "too much", "overly" etc. You can use あまり in multiple ways.

1. noun + の + あまり

   驚きのあまり、喋れなくなった。

   This あまり is a noun, but forms an adverbial expression just as "～の場合", "～の時", "～の中" or similar expressions do.

2. dictionary-form + あまり, ta-form + あまり

   驚くあまり、喋れなくなった。
   驚いたあまり、喋れなくなった。

3. あまり + に + verb/adjective + て/ので/ため/etc

   あまりに驚いて、喋れなくなった。
   あまりに驚いたので、喋れなくなった。

   (Occasionally this に is dropped)

These five Japanese sentences roughly mean the same thing: "I was so surprised that I was at a loss for words" or "I was too surprised to say something."

あまり in negative sentences is usually translated as "not very ～", "not really ～", etc. See: What is the meaning of あまり in this dialogue?

References:

• あまり meaning "too much"
• Learn JLPT N3 Grammar: あまり (amari)
• JGram 余り / JGram の余り / JGram 余り～ない

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重視する is a simple suru-verb that just means "to focus on something", "to weigh something heavily". Tons of examples on ALC.

Answer 2

仕事で人の間違いを重視するあまり仕事が楽しくなくなった。 (At work, people focus too much on other's mistakes so work became unenjoyable.)

I think your interpretation in English is correct.

As for "あまり", I'll show you how it works by using the given phrase.

1. 仕事で人の間違いを重視するので仕事が楽しくなくなった。
   At work, people attach importance to other's mistakes, so work became unenjoyable.
2. 仕事で人の間違いを重視するあまり仕事が楽しくなくなった。
   At work, people attach too much importance to other's mistakes, so work became unenjoyable.

In other words, sentence 2 could be interpreted as:

• 仕事で人の間違いをあまりにも重視するので仕事が楽しくなくなった。
• 仕事で人の間違いを過剰｛かじょう｝に重視するので仕事が楽しくなくなった。

You can find a lot of examples here using あまり in the same meaning as the given phrase.

As for "重視｛じゅうし｝する", it is defined like: to take something seriously; to attach importance.

There is a maxim in Japanese that is somewhat similar in meaning to the phrase you showed.

過｛す｝ぎたるは猶｛なお｝及｛およ｝ばざるが如｛ごと｝し
If I rewrite it in simple Japanese, it will be like:
多｛おお｝過｛す｝ぎることは足｛た｝らないことと同｛おな｝じようなものだ。

The maxim is interpreted in English like:

• less is more
• the last drop makes the cup run over
• too much of a good thing