How to tell them apart
もう marks a change from a past state — something has already happened or is no longer the case (もう食べた, もう勉強していない), while まだ marks continuity — the same state persists or has not yet begun (まだ食べていない, まだある). The trap is that both can pair with negative verbs, but the meaning flips: もう食べていない means you stopped, whereas まだ食べていない means you haven't started. Choose based on whether the state changed or stayed the same.
- もう Use もう when a state has changed from before — it happened already or no longer happens.
- まだ Use まだ when a state is the same as before — it is still happening or has not happened yet.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| もう mou | Already; not anymore; an exclamation of annoyance | N5 |
| まだ mada | continuing up to now; has not happened so far | N5 |
もう mou
Already; not anymore; an exclamation of annoyance
もう is an adverb placed before verbs, adjectives, or phrases to show that something has already happened, is about to happen, or has reached a limit, as in もうなくなる or もう分からない. It also works as a casual exclamation of exasperation, as in もう～、なにやってんだよ.
-
あ、もうテレカがなくなる・・。じゃあ、３０分後に。
Ah, the phone card's already running out.. See you in half an hour.
-
もう何をしたらいいか分からない。
I don't know what to do anymore.
まだ mada
continuing up to now; has not happened so far
まだ is an adverb meaning an action or state is continuing (still) or has not happened (not yet). It is placed before the verb or adjective it modifies, and with a negative verb it expresses that something has not happened yet. It appears in both casual and neutral speech.
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父はまだ休んでいる。
Father is still in bed.
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「おわったの」「それどころかまだ始めていないよ」
"Have you finished?" "On the contrary, I have not even begun yet."
もう and まだ are both JLPT N5 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side on meanings, usage and example sentences, so you can tell them apart.