もう

もう

Japanese

Etymology 1

Derivation unknown. First attested in 1477, around the Muromachi Period.[1]

Historical kana orthography shows that this was originally まう (mau),[1] and Portuguese sources from the late 1500s and early 1600s record this as ⟨mǒ⟩, indicating a pronunciation of /mɔː/ as part of the regular sound shift from /au/ to /oː/.[2]

The initial ma is speculatively connected to 今 (ima, ma, “now”).[1][3]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) も​ー [móꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])[4][5][6]
• (Tokyo) もー [mòó] (Heiban – [0])[4][5][6]
• IPA^(key): [mo̞ː]

Adverb

もう • (mō) 

1. already

   彼(かれ)はもうここに来(き)ている。

   Kare wa mō koko ni kite iru.

   He is already here.

   もう我(が)慢(まん)できない！

   Mō gaman dekinai!

   (I) can't stand it anymore!

   • Fist of the North Star

     お前(まえ)はもう死(し)んでいる。

     Omae wa mō shinde iru.

     You are already dead.

2. already the time to do so. shortly, soon.

   ９(く)時(じ)ですからもう失礼(しつれい)します。

   Ku-ji desu kara mō shitsurei shimasu.

   It's nine o'clock so I must leave shortly.

3. (chiefly in the negative) any more

   私(わたし)はもう歩(ある)けない。

   Watashi wa mō arukenai.

   I can't walk any more.

4. Used in exasperation: compare English already

   もう知(し)らん！

   Mō shiran!

   Whatever! I don't care!

5. more, further

   もう一(いっ)杯(ぱい)ください。

   Mō ippai kudasai.

   Give me one more glass.

   • 2005, ラーメンズ (Rāmenzu) [Rahmens], 不思議(ふしぎ)の国(くに)のニポン (Fushigi no kuni no Nipon), in ALICE

     北(ほっ)海(かい)道(どう)。住(じゅう)人(にん)の半(はん)分(ぶん)がクマ。もう半(はん)分(ぶん)がカニ。

     Hokkaidō. Jūnin no hanbun ga kuma. Mō hanbun ga kani.

     Hokkaido. Half of its residents are bears. The other half are crabs.

Usage notes

A common mistake among Japanese language learners is to use もう as a general term meaning more; the correct term in many cases is もっと (motto).

Senses 1-3 and sense 4 have different accents.

Synonyms

• (already): 既(すで)に (sude ni)
• (any more): 最(も)早(はや) (mohaya)

Antonyms

• まだ (mada)

Interjection

もう • (mō) 

1. (colloquial) jeez!, used to express frustration against the addressee; compare use of English already

   もう、何(なに)やってんだよ。

   Mō, nani yatte n da yo.

   Jeez, what're you up to? → Whaddya doing, already?

Alternative forms

• もー (mō)

References

1. “もう”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
2. 1603, 日葡辞書: パリ本 / Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam (Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan) (in Japanese and Portuguese), 1976 reprint, Tōkyō: Bensei Publishing. See the Mǒfaya entry available online here, left-hand column, corresponding to modern もう早 (mōhaya, “already, so soon”, adverb). This persists in Hokkaido dialect, per the 北海道方言辞書 (Hokkaidō Hōgen Jisho, “Hokkaido Dialect Dictionary”), entry available online here via Weblio (in Japanese).
3. “も”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
4. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
5. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
6. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of もう – see the following entries.

【猛】S [noun] ferociousness [prefix] wild, ferocious, frenzied 【網】S [suffix] network 【毛】2 [noun] one thousandth [noun] one thousandth of a 寸 (sun) (approximately 0.0303 mm) [noun] one thousandth of a 匁 (monme) (exactly 3.75 mg) [noun] one thousandth of a 割 (wari) (0.01 percent)

(This term, もう, is an alternative spelling of the above Sino-Japanese terms. For a list of all kanji read as もう, not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as もう.)