Learn Hardcore Japanese: kyuuryoubi ni ukkari tukaisugite, hayaku nereba yokatta to omotta. - I accidentally spent too much on payday and thought I should have gone to bed early.

Word

給料日きゅうりょうび　に　うっかり　使つかいすぎて、　早はやく　寝ねれば　よかった　と　思おもった。kyuuryoubi ni ukkari tsukaisugite, hayaku nereba yokatta to omotta.

Meaning

I accidentally spent too much on payday and thought I should have gone to bed early.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of kyuuryoubi ni ukkari tsukaisugite, hayaku nereba yokatta to omotta.

What does the adverb うっかり add here? Is it like “accidentally”?

Yes. うっかり means “carelessly; inadvertently; by mistake (due to oversight).”
It modifies the verb 使いすぎて: “I carelessly spent too much.”
Close cousins:
- つい: “I ended up … (couldn’t resist).” Temptation/weakness. つい買いすぎた。
- 思わず: “before I knew it/without thinking,” often emotional or reflexive. 思わず笑ってしまった。
Pattern: うっかり + verb. Using うっかりと is rare/formal; plain うっかり is most natural.

Why is に used after 給料日? Could I drop it?

に marks a specific point in time: “on payday.”
You can sometimes drop に with time words, but with a concrete day like 給料日, に is natural and clear.
General tendency:
- Often with に: 月曜日に, 1時に, 誕生日に, 給料日に
- Usually no に: 今日, 明日, 毎日, 週末 (though 週末に is fine too)

What exactly is being “used too much” in 使いすぎて? Where’s the object?

It’s implied to be money: お金を (or 給料を). Japanese frequently omits obvious objects.
With 使う in a money context, it naturally means “spend.” So 使いすぎて = “(I) spent too much.”

Why is it 使いすぎて and not 使いすぎた?