Though the Japanese particle も transcribed mo is most often used like “also” or “too,” to express a parallel or similarity between two elements of a sentence, it can sometimes also have other uses. It can be used to express emphasis or surprise, to express emotion, or even to create and derive a range of expressions.
In this post, we’ll talk about some of these other uses of も transcribed mo. We’ll see how it can be used to add emphasis, express feelings like surprise or nostalgia, and derive set expressions with entirely new meanings and functions. How can such a small word as も do all this? Let’s find out!
Emphasis: When does も (mo) mean “even”?
In Japanese, the particle も transcribed mo can be used to convey a speaker’s sense of surprise or amazement that something is actually the case. In this use, it is often translated as “even.” You might hear this usage when something goes above and beyond expectations.
Though this is done for emphasis, you can see that there is some connection to parallel structure here if you think of it as an implied “not only [expectation] but even [reality].” So you can think of the sentence above as meaning something like:
Sometimes, whether we translate an instance of も transcribed mo as providing a parallel (“also”) or providing emphasis (“even”) is really just a matter of interpretation and context. Let’s say we’re talking about my student Chun. I tell you that she is an amazing student. She can speak very well and in grammatically correct sentences. Then I tell you:
The sentence has two possible interpretations, depending on how surprising you think this skill is.
If she is a very advanced student, her ability to use kanji might be praiseworthy but not surprising. In that case, the kanji are just part of the list of skills Chun has, so you’d translate it as:
Chun can also write difficult kanji with ease.If she is a lower-level student, her ability to write kanji might be considered more exceptional. This skill goes above and beyond what we’d expect from even a good student. In this case, you’d translate も transcribed mo as “even” instead:
Chun can write even difficult kanji with ease.
As you see, whether a particular も is used as a similarity marker or as an emphasis marker depends on the whole context surrounding the sentence. In everyday conversations or in writing, a sentence generally doesn’t exist on its own. Try to understand what you hear or read and see which role fits the best for the particular も!
Emotion: When to use も (mo) with verbs of change?
In sentences that describe some kind of change, we can use も to implicitly communicate our strong feelings about the change. This use is hard to translate into English, but you might use it in a context where you would start your sentence with “Wow!” or “My goodness!” or “It’s hard to believe that…”
Let’s look at an example:
The sentence above discusses a change in the younger brother: from naughty little boy to working adult. By adding も transcribed mo after the changing noun (the younger brother), his sister communicates she has strong feelings about this change. Perhaps she is feeling nostalgic, proud, or just amazed.
Derivation: How to use も (mo) to create expressions with new meanings and functions?
Sometimes も transcribed mo is added to a base word to create a new descriptive expression in ways that aren’t really connected with emphasis or with parallel structure:
Question word + も transcribed mo → creates words like “everywhere,” “anywhere,” or “nowhere.”
Adjective + も transcribed mo → often creates set phrases that act as adverbs
Let’s look at each pattern!
Creating quantifiers: When to use a question word + も (mo)?
When you add も transcribed mo to a question word like いつ transcribed itsumeaning when or どこ transcribed dokumeaning where it creates an expression with an all or nothing meaning like “everywhere,” “anywhere,” or “nowhere.” The meaning of these words depends on the type of sentence you create:
In an affirmative sentence you get the “all” meaning. Usually these are words that begin with “all” or “every,” like “everything,” “always,” “everywhere,” or “everyone.”
- ジョンさんはいつも元気だ。Transcription: Jon san wa itsumo genki da.Translation: John is always full of energy.
- 週末はどこも観光客でいっぱいだ。Transcription: Shūmatsu wa doko mo kankōkyaku de ippai da.Translation: During the weekend, we see swarms of tourists everywhere.
In a negative sentence we use words like “never” or “nowhere” or phrases like “anywhere at all” or “any time at all.”
negative verb姉はいつも朝ごはんを食べない。Transcription: Ane wa itsumo asagohan o tabenai.Translation: My elder sister never eats breakfast.Literally: My elder sister doesn’t eat breakfast any time at all.大丈夫。もうどこも痛くない。Transcription: Daijōbu. Mō doko mo itakunai.Translation: I’m OK. It doesn’t hurt anywhere at all now.Notice, though, that to achieve negative meanings like “never” or “nowhere,” the question word + も transcribed mo must always be used with a negative verb. It is the verb that makes the sentence negative!
Check out this table of question word + も transcribed mo examples for more such combinations!
What if the question word is marked by other particles?
What if you want to use a particle like に transcribed ni, へ transcribed e, で transcribed de, と transcribed to, or から transcribed kara to mark a word meaning “everyone” or “nowhere”? What should you do?
In a negative sentence, you just place the other particle before も transcribed mo. For example:
- だれともTranscription: dare to moTranslation: (not) with anyone
- どこにもTranscription: doko ni moTranslation: (not) in any place
However, in an affirmative sentence, you can’t do this. If you want to use a second particle, like と, to mark a word meaning “everyone,” you’ll need to replace も transcribed mo with another particle: でも transcribed demo.
Unlike も transcribed mo, particle でも transcribed demo can be used after other particles in a positive sentence, and it produces an expression with the same basic meaning as question word + も transcribed mo:
- だれとでもTranscription: dare to demoTranslation: with everyone
- どこへでもTranscription: doko e demoTranslation: to everywhere
Creating adverbs: What are some set phrases with adjective + も?
We can also add も transcribed mo to certain adjectives to create set phrases that act like adverbs in a sentence. Such adverb phrases tend to express personal opinions or communicate how we view a certain fact.
- 悲しいTranscription: kanashiiTranslation: sad悲しくもTranscription: kanashiku moTranslation: sadly
- 畏れ多いTranscription: osoreōiTranslation: venerable畏れ多くもTranscription: osore ōku moTranslation: gracious enough to…
- 幸運（な）Transcription: kōun(na)Translation: lucky幸運にもTranscription: kōun ni moTranslation: luckily
- 意外（な）Transcription: igai(na)Translation: surprising, unexpected意外にもTranscription: igai ni moTranslation: surprisingly, unexpectedly
Notice that there are generally slight changes to the adjective stem as well, which may or may not be the same changes that are generally required when parallel も transcribed mo is used after an adjective.
Here’s an example of how one of these adverb phrases is used in a sentence:
To Sum Up
In this post, we’ve covered three cases where も transcribed mo does not mean “also” or “too”:
When it’s used to express emphasis or surprise → here it means “even”
When it’s used to express emotion about a change → here it means something like “wow” or “I can’t believe…”
When it’s used to derive new expressions, including…
“all” or “nothing” expressions → question word + も
adverbial expressions → certain adjectives + も
Ready to practice these uses of も? Check out these non-parallel uses of も exercises or, continue learning with one of the posts in the box below.
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