Is there a way to know what meaning the も particle has?


The も particle has the meaning of

> also  
>  too  
>  words of similar weight  
>  about (emphasizing an upper limit)  
>  as much as  
>  even  
>  more  
>  further  
>  other  
>  again

So depending where it's placed like before/after a subject/verb/adj/noun etc.

Can you determine based on that what meaning it has ?




To some extent you can, but Japanese is a heavily context based language and
it is context that is key to determining the appropriate translation of も.

Consider

> 今日{きょう}は車{くるま}が10台{だい} **も** 売{う}れた。  
>  I sold as many as ten cars today.

I don't think there's any ambiguity there since も comes after a counter. But
what about

> 今日{きょう}は車{くるま} **も** 売{う}れた。

It could be

> (I finally manged to sell the motorbike and) I **even** sold the car today.

or

> ( I sold the motorbike and) I **also** sold the car.

The more I think about it the more I find that these definitions of も merge
into each other, **even** in English (in Japanese **and also** in English).

も is a very versatile and often quite confusing particle. You should post
specific example sentences where you are having problems working out which
meaning to use.




To some extent you can, but Japanese is a heavily context based language and
it is context that is key to determining the appropriate translation of も.

Consider

> 今日{きょう}は車{くるま}が10台{だい} **も** 売{う}れた。  
>  I sold as many as ten cars today.

I don't think there's any ambiguity there since も comes after a counter. But
what about

> 今日{きょう}は車{くるま} **も** 売{う}れた。

It could be

> (I finally manged to sell the motorbike and) I **even** sold the car today.

or

> ( I sold the motorbike and) I **also** sold the car.

The more I think about it the more I find that these definitions of も merge
into each other, **even** in English (in Japanese **and also** in English).

も is a very versatile and often quite confusing particle. You should post
specific example sentences where you are having problems working out which
meaning to use.

