Using も in Japanese: “Also” and “Too”
You already know how to make a simple Japanese sentence using は (wa).
わたしは日本人です。
Watashi wa nihonjin desu.
I am Japanese.
But what if someone else is Japanese, too?
That’s where も (mo) comes in.
田中さんも日本人です。
Tanaka-san mo nihonjin desu.
Tanaka is Japanese, too.
Let’s see how it works.
も Means “Also” or “Too”
A simple way to understand も is:
も = also / too
Look at these two sentences:
わたしは日本人です。
Watashi wa nihonjin desu.
I am Japanese.
田中さんも日本人です。
Tanaka-san mo nihonjin desu.
Tanaka is Japanese, too.
In the second sentence, も tells us that the same thing is true for Tanaka.
は → も
You already learned this pattern:
A は B です。
Now, when you want to say “A is B, too,” you can use:
A も B です。
For example:
これはラーメンです。
Kore wa ramen desu.
This is ramen.
If another one is ramen, too:
これもラーメンです。
Kore mo ramen desu.
This is ramen, too.
Notice that は changed to も.
Another Example
わたしは学生です。
Watashi wa gakusei desu.
I am a student.
Your friend is also a student:
友だちも学生です。
Tomodachi mo gakusei desu.
My friend is a student, too.
Same pattern:
A も B です。
Moto’s Tip 🇯🇵
Here’s an easy way to think about も:
も applies to the word or phrase right before it.
わたしも
→ I also / me too
田中さんも
→ Tanaka too
これも
→ this too
So when you see も, look at what comes right before it.
For example:
わたしも学生です。
Watashi mo gakusei desu.
I am a student, too.
What does も apply to?
わたし.
And:
田中さんも学生です。
Tanaka-san mo gakusei desu.
Tanaka is a student, too.
Here, も applies to 田中さん.
This is a useful way to start understanding Japanese particles: pay attention to the word or phrase right before the particle.
A Useful Phrase: わたしも！
You don’t always need a full sentence.
If someone says:
わたしはコーヒーが好きです。
Watashi wa kōhī ga suki desu.
I like coffee.
You can simply say:
わたしも！
Watashi mo!
Me too!
You’ll hear わたしも often in everyday Japanese.
For now, you don’t need to worry about how 好き or が works. We’ll learn those later.
Just remember:
わたしも！ = Me too!
Try It Yourself
You know:
わたしは学生です。
I am a student.
How would you say:
Ken is a student, too.
Answer:
ケンさんも学生です。
Ken-san mo gakusei desu.
Now:
これはラーメンです。
This is ramen.
How would you say:
This is ramen, too.
Answer:
これもラーメンです。
Kore mo ramen desu.
And finally:
Someone says something that is also true for you.
How can you say:
Me too!
Answer:
わたしも！
What to Remember
は marks the topic:
わたしは学生です。
I am a student.
も can mean “also” or “too”:
田中さんも学生です。
Tanaka is a student, too.
The basic pattern is:
A も B です。
And remember:
も applies to the word or phrase right before it.
So:
わたしも → I too
田中さんも → Tanaka too
これも → this too
And one very useful phrase:
わたしも！
Me too!
That’s it.
One new particle. One new thing you can say.
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