～のあまり
so much that
～のあまり attaches to a noun (usually an emotion or state) and means “out of an excess of X”: the feeling was so extreme that it caused the result in the second clause.
English equivalents are “so ... that” or “out of sheer ...”. The result is typically something unusual or involuntary like crying, freezing up, losing one's voice.
1. Noun + のあまり
い-adjectives are turned into nouns with ～さ (嬉しい → 嬉しさ) before adding のあまり.
嬉しさのあまり泣いた。
“I cried out of sheer joy.”
- 嬉しさ（うれしさ）= joy (noun from 嬉しい, happy)
- のあまり = out of an excess of
- 泣いた（ないた）= cried
驚きのあまり、声も出なかった。
“I was so astonished that I couldn't even make a sound.”
- 驚き（おどろき）= astonishment (noun from 驚く, to be surprised)
- のあまり = out of an excess of
- 声（こえ）= voice
- も = even (emphatic particle)
- 出なかった（でなかった）= did not come out
2. あまりの～に: same idea, but the order is flipped
The same meaning can be expressed as あまりの + noun + に, with あまり placed in front.
あまりの暑さに、外に出たくなかった。
“It was so hot that I didn't want to go outside.”
- あまりの = excessive, sheer
- 暑さ（あつさ）= heat (noun from 暑い, hot)
- に = cause marker
- 外（そと）= outside
- 出たくなかった（でたくなかった）= did not want to go out
How to form it
Noun + のあまり (い-adjectives become nouns with ～さ)
- 嬉しい（うれしい）= happy → 嬉しさのあまり（うれしさのあまり）= out of sheer joy
- 心配（しんぱい）= worry → 心配のあまり（しんぱいのあまり）= out of sheer worry
- 驚く（おどろく）= to be surprised → 驚きのあまり（おどろきのあまり）= in one's astonishment
Key idea
～のあまり is an overflowing cup: an emotion fills up past the brim, and whatever happens next — tears, silence, panic — spills out as the uncontrolled result.
Other N2 grammar
Updated .