もう

• 読み: もう
• ローマ字: mou
• 発音: /moː/

意味

Already; yet; by now. With negatives: not any more; not any longer.

A high-frequency adverb with two main uses: indicating completion (もう食べた = already ate) and indicating cessation with negatives (もう食べない = won't eat anymore). Can also express exasperation (もう!) or mean 'soon' in some contexts.

例文

1. もう宿題は終わりましたか。
2. 朝ごはんはもう食べました。
3. もう遅いから寝ましょう。

使い方ガイド

場面: daily life, conversation, questions

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From classical Japanese, related to the concept of reaching a point in time. The word has maintained its core meaning of temporal completion since the Heian period.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal