もAlso, Too, As well, Even, Either, Neither

も's translation will change, depending on if the sentence is positive, or negative

Structure

Noun + も

Details

Particle
Linking Particle
Standard

About も

も can mean 'too/also', or 'even', or 'neither/either', depending on if the sentence is affirmative or negative. Multiple meanings like this are quite common for Japanese particles, as there is no need to use different words simply to agree with other statements in the sentence (unlike English).

As you can see here, English requires 'either/neither (when negative)', or 'too/also', but Japanese only requires も. You can think of it as simply meaning 'Whatever is true for (A), is also true for (B)'.

も is part of many other compound grammar structures in which it keeps its original meaning, but shifts the nuance a little bit. Some of these include でも, にも～ない, とも. As we can see, it is frequently paired with other particles!

Although this was a pairing of で and も as individual structures in the past, in modern Japanese, でも is considered its own word. This is most often translated simply as 'but' in English, despite the nuance sometimes being 'While (A), also (B)', which highlights more clearly the historical concept.

Examples

--:--

あなたもトムです。
You are also Tom.
私(わたし)も。
Me too.
彼(かれ)も先生(せんせい)です。
He is also a teacher.
服(ふく)も古(ふる)い。
The clothes, too, are old.
君(きみ)も、忙(いそが)しい。
You are also busy.
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Online
- The 「も」 inclusive topic particle
  Tae Kim

Offline
- A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 247
- Genki I
  Page 37
- Genki I
  Page 81
- Genki I 2nd Edition
  Page 65
- Genki I 2nd Edition
  Page 111
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 35
- みんなの日本語 I
  Page 14 [CH 1]
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も – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

Scyamntic
Yeah good callout, I was just about to update to mention that technically you can make the case that “but” and “and” are pretty similar in function in this case. But it seemed a little too “extra”
Gambarre
Thank you so much both! Language can be so subtle. It was the implied negativity with “but” vs additional statement of “also” that threw me. So interesting. Thank you for the examples, gives me a better overall understanding of the sentence construction and your responses are much appreciated!
Marcus_Aseth
車は速い、でも危ない。
The translation given is: “Cars are fast, and also dangerous.”

Isn’t this wrong?
As far as I know でも expresses contrast (but / however / nevertheless / even so), and not simply additional information.

Therefore to me that sentence reads as “Cars are fast, but dangerous”

The point of that sentence being there in the first place was to show that も retains it’s meaning even when combined with other particles, but if they wanted to show this it should have been for example through the construction で+も.
バスでも車でも行ける＝ We can go either by bus or by car. (We can go by bus as well as by car.)