もう
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Japanese
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]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
[edit]- (Tokyo) もー [móꜜò] (Atamadaka – [1])[4][5][6] (other senses)
- (Tokyo) もー [mòó] (Heiban – [0])[4][5][6] (sense "more, further")
- IPA(key): [mo̞ː]
Adverb
[edit]- already (having reached a certain situation or finished a certain action)
- Synonyms: 既に (sude ni), 最早 (mohaya)
- 彼はもうここに来ている。
- Kare wa mō koko ni kite iru.
- He is already here.
- もう子供ではない。
- Mō kodomo de wa nai.
- [You are] not a child any more.
- Fist of the North Star
- お前はもう死んでいる。
- Omae wa mō shinde iru.
- You are already dead.
- お前はもう死んでいる。
- already the time to do so; shortly, soon
- more, further
- (chiefly in the negative) any more, again
- Synonym: 二度とは (nido to wa)
- 私はもう歩けない。
- Watashi wa mō arukenai.
- I can't walk any more.
- もうしませんから許してください。
- Mō shimasen kara yurushite kudasai.
- Please forgive me, I won't do it again.
Usage notes
[edit]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).
Antonyms
[edit]- 未だ (mada)
See also
[edit]Interjection
[edit]- (colloquial) Used to express frustration against the addressee; jeez; compare use of English already
- もう、何やってんだよ。
- Mō, nani yatte n da yo.
- Jeez, what're you up to? → Whaddya doing, already?
- 嫌になっちゃうなあ、もう。
- Iya ni natchau nā, mō.
- I'm getting so fed up, already!
- もう、何やってんだよ。
Alternative forms
[edit]- もー (mō)
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “もう”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
- ^ Ishizuka, Harumichi (1976 [1603]) 日葡辞書: パリ本 [Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan][2] (overall work in Japanese and Portuguese), 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).
- ^ “も”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][3] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
Etymology 2
[edit]| For pronunciation and definitions of もう – see the following entries. | ||
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| (This term, もう (mō), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as もう, see Category:Japanese kanji read as もう.) |
(The following entries are uncreated: 亡, 望, 妄, 朦, 濛, 申, 罔, 耗, 莽, 舞, 孟.)
Categories:
- Japanese terms with unknown etymologies
- Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese adverbs
- Japanese hiragana
- Japanese terms with usage examples
- Japanese negative polarity items
- Japanese interjections
- Japanese colloquialisms
- Japanese nouns
- Japanese prefixes
- Japanese suffixes
- Japanese pronouns