adverbial N1 common writtenpolite
もはや — now (already)
もはや
Meaning
- (by) now / already / no longer — a state has irreversibly reached a point; with a negative, 'no longer ~'
Formal/literary; stresses that things have passed a point of no return — what was once possible no longer is.
Key sentence
もはや手遅れだ。
It's already too late now.
Usage
Formal and written/literary; in everyday speech もう covers the same ground more plainly.
Examples
もはや誰にも止められない。
No one can stop it any longer.
彼の名前は、もはや伝説となっている。
His name has by now become legend.
Easily confused with
See もはや in real sentences
Jengo shows もはや the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.