既すでに vs. もう：How To Quickly Figure Them Out

When you want to use the meaning “Already”, what kind of words do you use? 既すでに or もう? And what is the difference between them? Japanese has a lot of words for casual and formal and these are one of them. Since 既すでに and もう are useful words in ordinal conversations, try to use 既すでに and もう after figuring them out. Let me introduce how different they are today!

既すでに(sudeni) / もう(mou)

Already

Both “既すでに(sudeni) and もう(mou)” are the same meaning which is “Already”. The difference between them is that “もう” is quite casual than “既すでに” such as “もう着ついたの?” as casual and “既すでに着つきましたか？” as polite or formal which mean “Have you already arrived?”. However, “既すでに” is pretty formal so you could also say “もう着つきましたか？” as polite. Thus, “もう着ついたの?” is used as casual, “もう着つきましたか?” as polite and “既すでに到着とうちゃくしましたか？” as formal that all mean “Have you already arrived?”. The tips for using them are that “もう” is used as casual and polite in daily conversations and “既すでに” is used as formal(polite) especially in business situations.

Example

もう着ついたの！？ (Have you already arrived?) (你已经到了！？) (벌써 도착했어!?) (Cậu đến nơi rồi cơ á!?)

もう夜よるご飯食はんたべたの？ (Have you had dinner yet?) (你吃过晚饭了吗？) (저녁 벌써 먹었어?) (Cậu đã ăn tối rồi cơ á?)

うん、もう夜よるご飯食はんたべたよー。 (Yes, I’ve already ate dinner.) (是的，我已经吃过晚饭了。) (응, 이미 저녁 먹었어.) (Ừ, tớ ăn tối rồi.)

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もう忙いそがしい時期じきが来きたよ。 (The busiest season of the year has already come.) (已经到了开始忙碌的时期。) (이제 바쁜 시기가 왔다.) (Đợt bận đến rồi đó.)

もう暑あつくなってきたねー。 (It’s already gotten hot.) (天气已经热起来了。) (이제 더워지기 시작했네.) (Trời nóng lên rồi nhỉ.)

既すでに把握はあくしているよ。 (I’ve already grasped the situation.) (我已经掌握情况了。) (이미 알고 있어.) (Tớ đã biết rồi.)

それは既すでに習ならいましたよ。 (This’s what we already have learned.) (那个已经学过了哦。) (그건 이미 배웠어요.) (Cái đó tớ học rồi.)

昨日きのう、連絡れんらくがあった時ときは既すでに寝ねてました。 (Yesterday, when you sent a message I was already sleeping.) (昨天，你联系我的时候，我已经睡着了。) (어제 연락받았을 땐 이미 자고있었어요.) (Hôm qua lúc có cuộc gọi tôi đã ngủ mất rồi.)