まだ (mada) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Still
Sandro Maglione
3 min reading time
The adverb まだ (mada) means still or not yet, depending on whether the sentence in which it is used is affirmative or negative.
The literal meaning of まだ is to indicate something that is unexpectedly still going on, something that is still in the state it was in before.
This meaning explains the reason for the two translations of まだ, as we go into more detail below.
In this post we learn more about the meaning of まだ, how it is formed, and when まだ is used through real example sentences.
How まだ is formed
まだ is an adverb and as such is used to modify verbs and adjectives in a sentence.
There are no specific rules that indicate where an adverb should be placed in a sentence.
Nonetheless, it is common to find adverbs at the beginning of the sentence (although not necessary). まだ modifies affirmative verbs in the ている form (translated as still) or negative verbs (translated as not yet):
まだ終わない。
It's not finished yet.
まだ is the opposite of もう, which expresses something that ended unexpectedly.
もう終わった。
It's already finished.
まだ: "still"
As mentioned previously, when まだ is used in an affirmative sentence its meaning becomes still: something that is currently still in the state it was in before.
The verb is in the ている form, which is used in Japanese to indicate an ongoing action (still).
まだ雨が降っている。
It's still raining.
In this simple example we see how まだ is at the beginning of the sentence and indicates that the rain (雨) is still falling (降っている).
まだ: "not yet"
When instead まだ is used in a sentence in the negative (verb in the ない form) its meaning becomes not yet: something that is not currently in the state it was expected to be.
まだ帰らない。
He hasn't come home yet.
The example uses the verb to return (home) (帰る) in the negative form 帰らない:
Since the verb is in the negative form, まだ translates as not yet.
ネコ
もう書きましたか。
Have you written it yet?
ルケ
いいえ、まだ書いていません。
No, I haven't written it yet.
まだ~ていない
The negative verb is often conjugated in the form ていない (or ていません in the polite form). Using the て form, this expression indicates something that is still in the state of not being.
この映画はまだ見ていない。
I haven't seen this movie yet.
The form まだ~ていない is generally used to indicate something that hasn't been done yet.
Special expressions with まだ
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Support us to unlockExamples of まだ
まだそこにいるの？
Are you still there?
まだ方法が残っている。
There is still a way left.
まだ動いてるよ。
It's still moving.
