大層

• 読み: たいそう
• ローマ字: taisouna
• 漢字の分解: 大 (dai/oo) — large, great; 層 (sou) — layer, stratum
• 発音: /ta.i.soː/

意味

Exaggerated; grandiose; over-the-top; very great. Used sincerely to mean 'enormous/tremendous,' or ironically to suggest something is blown out of proportion.

A na-adjective and adverb with dual usage: used sincerely, 大層 means 'very great' or 'enormous' (大層な苦労, a tremendous ordeal; 大層嬉しい, enormously pleased); used ironically, it criticises someone for overdramatising or acting self-important. Context and tone determine which sense is intended. Carries a somewhat old-fashioned, colloquial flavour—common in regional speech, period dramas, and narrative storytelling. Also appears as a standalone adverb meaning 'greatly/tremendously.'

例文

1. 大層なことを言うわりに、実際の仕事ぶりはたいしたことがなかった。
2. 故郷を離れた日のことを、祖母は大層つらかったと今も語る。
3. 小さな失敗を大層に嘆くのは、周囲の人を疲弊させるばかりだ。

使い方ガイド

場面: exaggeration, irony, narrative, regional speech, everyday life

トーン: mixed

起源と歴史

Compound of 大 (dai/oo, large/great) and 層 (sou, layer/stratum). The idea of something piled up in many large layers gives 大層 its sense of 'enormously' or 'in great quantity.' Extended metaphorically to mean exaggerated or over-the-top. Attested in popular fiction and everyday speech from the Edo period.

文化的背景

時代: Edo–Modern

世代: Older adults

社会的背景: Universal