Meanings Jump to a sense… 1. already; yet; by now; no longer 2. soon; shortly; before long 3. more; further; another 4. jeez; come on; seriously Usage patterns もう 〈 時とき 〉 だ it's already (a certain time)
It's already nine o'clock.
もうすぐ 〈 事こと 〉 soon; before long
もう 一ひと つ 〈 物もの 〉 one more (thing)
Please give me one more piece of cake.
もう 、 〈 事こと 〉 expressing exasperation before a complaint
もう 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 ない to no longer do something
もう 少すこ し 〈 形けい 容よう 詞し 〉 a little more (adjective)
I'd prefer a slightly bigger room.
Related words· 7 すぐ simply means 'soon' or 'right away', while もう in this sense (often as もうすぐ ) adds a nuance of imminence building up to a point.
あと and もう can both mean 'more' before a counter (あと一つ ／もう一つ ), but あと emphasizes what remains while もう emphasizes addition.
既に is a more formal, written equivalent of もう when meaning 'already'; もう is used in everyday speech.
もう simply means 'already' and is neutral about how long ago, while とっくに adds emphasis that it happened well before now.
Show 3 more Show fewer もう is the common, everyday word for 'already' or 'anymore', while 最早 is more formal and emphatic, typically used in written or rhetorical contexts.
もう is the everyday word for 'already', while 早 is a more literary or fixed-expression way of saying the same thing.
もう means 'already' by itself, while もうすっかり pairs it with 'completely' to emphasize a fully finished state.
Opposites もう marks that something has already happened or is complete, while まだ marks that it has not happened yet or is still ongoing.
もう means 'already', the direct temporal opposite of まだまだ 's sense of 'still not yet there'.
Don't confuse with もう一つ means 'one more (item)' while もっと means 'more' in degree or amount, so もっと大きい (bigger) cannot be replaced with もう大きい .
もう is the full adverb meaning 'already' or 'more', while も in casual speech is sometimes heard as a clipped form of もう but is otherwise a completely different particle.
Etymology The origin is uncertain, but it is a native Japanese adverb that has been used since Old Japanese.
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