Breakdown of Ich bin überhaupt nicht müde.
ich
I
sein
to be
müde
tired
überhaupt nicht
not at all (emphatic)
Questions & Answers about Ich bin überhaupt nicht müde.
Why is the word überhaupt used here?
In this sentence, überhaupt is paired with nicht to mean "not at all." While nicht just means "not," adding überhaupt in front of it makes the negative much stronger: "I am absolutely not tired."
Can I change the word order and say nicht überhaupt?
No, the order is fixed in German. To say "not at all," überhaupt must always come directly before nicht. You can also put it before kein (like überhaupt keine Zeit for "no time at all").
What does überhaupt mean on its own, without nicht?
By itself, überhaupt is a common word that usually means "generally," "anyway," or "at all." For instance, if you ask Bist du überhaupt müde?, it means "Are you tired at all?"
Why doesn't the adjective müde have an ending here?
Adjectives in German only change their endings when they are placed directly in front of a noun (like ein müder Mann for "a tired man"). Because müde comes after the verb bin, it stays in its basic dictionary form.
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