～あまり(に)— So Much That It Overwhelms

• 驚きのあまり、声も出なかった。

  Odoroki no amari, koe mo denakatta.

  I was so surprised that I couldn't even make a sound.

  Noun 驚き + の + あまり shows the surprise was so excessive it produced the result of speechlessness.

• 彼女は緊張のあまりに手が震えていた。

  Kanojo wa kinchou no amari ni te ga furuete ita.

  She was so nervous that her hands were shaking.

  緊張 (tension) + の + あまりに; the に is optional and adds a slightly more formal tone.

• 働きすぎたあまり、体を壊してしまった。

  Hatarakisugita amari, karada o kowashite shimatta.

  Because I worked far too much, I ended up ruining my health.

  Verb past-plain 働きすぎた + あまり; the excessive action leads directly to the negative result.

• ・Register: formal / written; less common in casual speech.
• ・The result clause is usually negative, extreme, or unexpected.
• ・い-adjectives are nominalized first (嬉しさ, 忙しさ) and take の before あまり.
• ・Often pairs with emotion nouns: 驚き, 悲しみ, 喜び, 心配, 緊張.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～あまり(に) is tested against.

• ～おかげで — Thanks To
• ～せいで — Because Of (And I Blame It)
• ～せいか — Perhaps Because Of
• ～からといって — Just Because
• ～ことから — Judging From The Fact
• 次第だ／次第で — It All Depends
• だけあって — Living Up to It
• ～につれて — As One Thing Changes, So Does Another