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

Adverb

もう • (mō) 

  1. already (having reached a certain situation or finished a certain action)
    Synonyms: 既に (sude ni), 最早 (mohaya)
    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.
    もう子(こ)供(ども)ではない。
    Mō kodomo de wa nai.
    [You are] not a child any more.
    • 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.
    1. Used to strengthen one's judgment or emotions; compare English already
      Synonym: 正に (masa ni)
      これはもう疑(うたが)う余(よ)地(ち)のない事(じ)実(じつ)だ。
      Kore wa mō utagau yochi no nai jijitsu da.
      This is already an undeniable fact!
  2. already the time to do so; shortly, soon
    ９(く)時(じ)ですからもう失(しつ)礼(れい)します。
    Ku-ji desu kara mō shitsurei shimasu.
    It's nine o'clock so I must leave shortly.
    Synonyms: 直に (jiki ni), 間も無く (ma mo naku), やがて (yagate)
  3. more, further
    Synonyms: 更に (sara ni), 今 (ima)
    もう一(いっ)杯(ぱい)ください。
    Mō ippai kudasai.
    Give me one more glass.
  4. (chiefly in the negative) any more, again
    Synonym: 二度とは (nido to wa)
    私(わたし)はもう歩(ある)けない。
    Watashi wa mō arukenai.
    I can't walk any more.
    もうしませんから許(ゆる)してください。
    Mō shimasen kara yurushite kudasai.
    Please forgive me, I won't do it again.
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).

Antonyms
See also

Interjection

もう • (mō) 

  1. (colloquial) Used to express frustration against the addressee; jeez; 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?
    嫌(いや)になっちゃうなあ、もう。
    Iya ni natchau nā, mō.
    I'm getting so fed up, already!
Alternative forms

References
  1. “もう”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. Ishizuka, Harumichi (1976 [1603]) 日葡辞書: パリ本 [Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan]‎ (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).
  3. “も”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  4. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN

Etymology 2
For pronunciation and definitions of もう – see the following entries.
【猛】S
[noun] ferociousness
[prefix] wild, ferocious, frenzied
【盲】S
[noun] blindness
[noun] blind person
【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)
【蒙】J
[pronoun] humble first-person personal pronoun; I, me
(This term, もう, 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.)

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