これ以上(いじょう)

これ以上(いじょう) combines the demonstrative これ (this) with 以上(いじょう) (above, more than) to mean "more than this" or "beyond this point." It is overwhelmingly used with negative predicates to indicate a limit has been reached.

Usage

Almost always followed by a negative expression (～ない, ～できない, ～たくない). In positive sentences, it is rare and usually rhetorical: これ以上(いじょう)何(なに)を求(もと)めるのか (what more could one ask for?).

Related patterns

• それ以上(いじょう): more than that; beyond that
• あれ以上(いじょう): more than that (something further away or in the past)
• これ以下(いか): below this; no less than this

Common collocations

• これ以上(いじょう)ない: there is nothing more; the best possible
• これ以上(いじょう)続(つづ)けられない: cannot continue any further
• これ以上(いじょう)我慢(がまん)できない: cannot endure any more
• これ以上(いじょう)ない幸(しあわ)せ: the greatest happiness