～も（強調）

• Reading: も
• Romaji: mo
• Formation: Noun + も + Predicate / Number + Counter + も + Predicate / Question word + も + Negative

Meaning

A particle meaning 'also,' 'too,' or 'even,' used to imply that something else is also or also not the case, extending a statement to include additional items or people.

The emphatic も goes beyond simple inclusion — it implies that the stated fact is not unique but part of a pattern. When someone says 私もそう思う ('I also think so'), も signals that the speaker's opinion matches someone else's. With numbers, も emphasizes quantity as surprising: 三時間も待った ('I waited as long as three hours'). In negative sentences, も creates a total negation: 何も食べなかった ('I didn't eat anything at all'). も replaces が and を but follows other particles like に and で.

Examples

1. 姉は医者だ。弟も医者になった。 My older sister is a doctor. My younger brother also became a doctor.
2. 昨日は三時間も残業した。 I worked overtime for as long as three hours yesterday.
3. 冷蔵庫には何もなかった。 There was nothing at all in the refrigerator.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, written, everyday

Tone: inclusive

Do Say

• 彼女も参加することになった。
• この公園にも桜の木がたくさんある。
• 週末も仕事があって休めない。
• 十回も電話したのに出なかった。

Don't Say

• 私も田中です。(Using も when introducing yourself for the first time — も implies someone else already said the same name, which is unlikely and confusing) → 私は田中です。
• 一つも買った。(Using も with a number in an affirmative sentence where the quantity is not surprising — も with numbers implies an unexpectedly large amount) → 一つ買った。

Origin & History

From Old Japanese も, an inclusive particle. Its emphatic function developed naturally from the idea of inclusion — if even this is included, the scope is notable.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal