Breakdown of kyuuryoubi ni ukkari tukaisugite, hayaku nereba yokatta to omotta.
いいii
good
にni
time particle
使うtukau
to use
とto
quotative particle
思うomou
to think
〜て〜te
connective form
〜た〜ta
past tense
寝るneru
to sleep
〜すぎる〜sugiru
to be too …
早くhayaku
early
〜れば〜reba
conditional form
給料日kyuuryoubi
payday
うっかりukkari
accidentally
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Questions & Answers about kyuuryoubi ni ukkari tukaisugite, 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?
- The て-form connects to what follows and often implies a cause/result sequence.
- Here: “I overspent, so (as a result) I thought …”
- Alternatives:
- 使いすぎたので/から、早く寝ればよかったと思った。 (more explicit “because”)
- 使いすぎてしまって、… (adds regret/unintentional nuance via しまう)
How does the pattern ~すぎる work?
- It attaches to the stem: [verb-ます-stem/adjective stem] + すぎる = “too much/excessively.”
- 食べすぎる, 飲みすぎる, 使いすぎる
- 高すぎる, 静かすぎる, かわいすぎる
- Conjugates like a regular ichidan verb: 使いすぎた (past), 使いすぎて (te-form).
- It usually carries a negative/undesirable nuance.
- Spelling: often written in hiragana when it’s this auxiliary (see a note below).
What does 早く modify? Why 早く and not 早い? And what about 速く?
- 早く is the adverb form of 早い (“early”). It modifies a verb, here 寝る: “to go to bed early.”
- 早い is an adjective: 早い時間 (an early time).
- 速く (from 速い) means “fast/quickly” (speed), not “early” (time). Here you need 早く, not 速く.
Why does 寝ればよかった mean “I should have gone to bed (early)”?
- The set pattern [verb-ば] + よかった expresses regret or a wish about an unrealized past action: “I wish I had … / I should have …”
- 行けばよかった = I should have gone.
- Negative regret uses なければ: 行かなければよかった = I wish I hadn’t gone.
- It’s softer than a moral/obligatory “should.” For stronger obligation, see べき below.
Can I use たら instead of ば (早く寝たらよかった)?
- Yes. ~たらよかった is also common for “I should have/I wish I had …”
- In this use, ば and たら are both natural; ば can sound a touch more set-phrase/formulaic.
- Another regretty variant: 早く寝ればよかったのに (adds a complaining/“if only I had…” tone).
Is 思った necessary? What changes if I drop it or change the tense?
- 早く寝ればよかった (by itself) already expresses your regret.
- Adding …と思った frames it as a specific thought you had at that time (you’re narrating).
- …と思う = “I think (now) that I should have …”
- …と思っていた = “I had been thinking (for some time) that I should have …”
What does the と before 思った do?
- と is the quotative particle. It marks the content of thought/speech:
- 『早く寝ればよかった』と思った = I thought “I should have gone to bed early.”
- Same と appears with 言う, 考える, 感じる, etc.
Does the て in 使いすぎて mean “because”?
- The て-form can link actions and often implies cause/result when the second clause is a natural consequence.
- Here it’s effectively “(I) overspent, so (I) thought …”
- If you want an explicit causal marker, use ので/から.
Why is 思った in the past?
- You’re narrating a past episode: you overspent (then) and thought (then) “I should have gone to bed early.”
- Use 思う if you’re expressing a current reflection about a past event.
Could I say 眠る instead of 寝る?
- 寝る = to go to bed/lie down/sleep (focus on the act of going to bed).
- 眠る = to fall asleep/be asleep (state of sleeping).
- Here, the idea is “go to bed early (and avoid going out/spending),” so 寝る fits better. 眠る would sound more like “if I had fallen asleep early,” which is a bit off for this context.
Should I write 使いすぎ or 使い過ぎ?
- Both are acceptable. Common style: write auxiliary ~すぎる in hiragana (使いすぎる, 食べすぎる).
- When 過ぎ is a stand-alone noun/verb (“to pass; excess” as a noun), the kanji 過 is more common.
- In your sentence, 使いすぎて (hiragana) is the safest, most standard choice.
Is 給料日 the only way? What about 給料の日?
- Both 給料日 and 給料の日 are natural and mean “payday.” The compound 給料日 is very common; adding の is also fine.
Can I change the word order? Where should うっかり go?
- Time expressions like 給料日(に) typically go near the beginning.
- うっかり should be placed right before the verb it modifies:
- Natural: 給料日にうっかり使いすぎて、…
- Also fine: うっかり給料日にお金を使いすぎて、… (still modifies 使いすぎて)
- Keep うっかり close to 使いすぎて to avoid ambiguity.
What’s the difference between 早く寝ればよかった and 早く寝るべきだった?
- ~ばよかった: softer, regret/“It would have been better if…”
- ~べきだった: stronger sense of obligation/rightness: “I really should have (as a duty/wise rule).”
- Depending on tone, choose the one that matches how strong you want the judgment to sound.
Is there a polite version?
- Yes:
- 給料日にうっかり使いすぎて、早く寝ればよかったと思いました。
- Or even 早く寝ればよかったです (many speakers use this; it’s a polite wrapping of よかった).
- In formal writing/speech, you might also choose 使いすぎてしまって to underscore regret.
Could I say 早く寝ていればよかった or 早く寝ておけばよかった?
- 早く寝ていればよかった: “If I had been (already) sleeping early, it would’ve been good.” This emphasizes a continuing state and is less natural here.
- 早く寝ておけばよかった: uses ~ておく (“do in advance for later benefit”), meaning “I should have gone to bed early (so I wouldn’t end up overspending).” This fits well if you want to stress the preventative idea.