particle N4 common casualpolitewritten
〜も〜も — both ~ and ~ / neither ~ nor ~
〜も〜も ・ も〜も
Meaning
- both ~ and ~ (affirmative) / neither ~ nor ~ (with negative) — marks two or more parallel items as alike under one predicate
Repeating も puts two items in parallel and says the predicate applies to all of them equally: 兄も弟も来た ('both my older and younger brother came'). With a negative predicate it flips to 'neither…nor': お酒もタバコもやらない ('I neither drink nor smoke'). The emphasis is on the items being the same in this respect — stronger and more parallel than a neutral と list.
Key sentence
英語もフランス語も話せます。
I can speak both English and French.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| After each parallel noun (replacing は/が/を; kept after other particles) | N も N も (＋ predicate) | 犬も猫も / 東京にも大阪にも |
Examples
今日は暑くも寒くもない。
Today is neither hot nor cold.
彼は肉も魚も食べない。
He eats neither meat nor fish.
父も母も元気です。
Both my father and mother are well.
Easily confused with
と (listing) と neutrally joins an exhaustive list ('A and B'); 〜も〜も adds 'alike / equally', stressing that the predicate holds for each item the same way — and uniquely supports the 'neither…nor' negative reading. も Single も means 'also/too' for one item (私も = 'me too'); repeating it (〜も〜も) coordinates two or more items as 'both…and' / 'neither…nor'.
Notes
- When the items carry に・で・と etc., も is added *after* that particle: 駅にも家にも (にも), 彼とも誰とも (とも).
See 〜も〜も in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜も〜も the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.