# מדי



## TalomedIvrit

What is the difference in meaning and usage between the following:

השמלה קצרה מדי   

השמלה יותר מדי קצרה


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## ystab

Well, I don't see a difference. Maybe the latter is a bit of lower register. The both say that the dress is too short, or literally "shorter than enough/short more than enough." In Hebrew, there is no comparative form per se, and you can either use the adjective alone, or the adjective plus the word יותר (more). For example, אחי גבוה מאחותי or אחי גבוה יותר מאחותי. The same applies here.

When can יותר מדי fit better? If, for example, I want to say that the dress is way too short, I will use השמלה קצרה הרבה יותר מדי.


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## sawyeric1

So you're saying they're (מדי vs. יותר מדי) completely interchangeable, right? 
Then is one used more often than the other? If you had to give percentages for how much each one is used, what would you say?


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## TalomedIvrit

השמלה קצרה מדי


השמלה יותר מדי קצרה


Can the word order be reversed in either of these sentences?  That is, can one say either of the following:


השמלה מדי קצרה


השמלה יותר קצרה מדי


Of the four possibilities, which are the most common in spoken language?


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## bazq

השמלה קצרה מדי
השמלה יותר מדי קצרה
השמלה קצרה יותר מדי
These 3 are the most common.

השמלה מדי קצרה can be heard, especially when מדי is stressed ("the dress is TOO short"). Personally, I don't like it, it sounds bad. Either way, it's the least used form.

השמלה יותר קצרה מדי is ungrammatical.


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## sawyeric1

Is it the same with verbs? 

This is from Pimsleur:

?אולי אתה עובד יותר מדי
Maybe you’re working too much?

So you could also say "?אולי אתה עובד מדי"?


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## shalom00

No.


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## amikama

?אולי אתה עובד יותר מדי 
?אולי אתה עובד מדי


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## sawyeric1

Google Translate says that "יותר מדי" can mean "too much", but can just מדי by itself - as in "זה מדי" (That's too much)?

The logic behind these words is confusing, because how does it add anything to put יותר if מדי by itself already expresses "too / more than enough"? - then you get "more too / more more than enough", which are weird things to say


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## oopqoo

Since מדי means "too" in this sense what you're saying is literally:
אולי אתה עובד מדי?
Maybe you work too?
And mind you, the "too" here is of course the "too" that makes adjectives superlative, not the "too" that means "as well". So you are missing a word here.
I'm pretty sure the word מדי is literally מ+די which means "than enough". So יותר מדי is literally "more than enough" - but idiomatically it's "too much". So just think of the literal meaning and how it wouldn't fit your sentence:
אולי אתה עובד יותר מדי?
Maybe you work than enough?


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## Drink

oopqoo said:


> Since מדי means "too" in this sense what you're saying is literally:
> אולי אתה עובד מדי?
> Maybe you work too?
> And mind you, the "too" here is of course the "too" that makes adjectives superlative, not the "too" that means "as well".



You can't use the word "too" like this in English. "Too" in this sense must be followed by an adjective or adverb. In this case, you have to say "too much".


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## oopqoo

Yes that's what I'm trying to show - that the resultant sentence is erroneous both in English and in Hebrew.


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## Drink

Oh sorry I misunderstood.


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