まだ (JLPT N5)

About まだ

In English, まだ is regularly translated as 'still', or 'not yet', depending on if it is used in a positive non-past, or negative sentence. The reason that Japanese only requires one word for both of these nuances is due to まだ literally meaning 'something is unexpectedly still going'.

From these sentences, we can see that まだ may be translated in each case as the following.

(Non-past) - Although (A) is expected to not be there/happening, it is. 'Still' in English.

(ている) - Although (A) is expected to not still be going, it is. 'Not yet' in English.

The negative form of this will be discussed more in まだ～ていません.

This is the opposite of もう, which means 'something is unexpectedly finished'.

まだ may also be used to ask questions. This is when the speaker thinks that something 'might' be continuing, but wants or needs to confirm.

Fun Fact

まだ is often used simply as an expression indicating that something is 'lacking', or 'not yet' where it needs to be. In these cases まだ is frequently repeated as まだまだ, for emphasis.

まだまだだねー。

You are not ready for this. (You still STILL are not ready)

Examples

--:--

冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)にケーキがまだあります。

There is still cake in the fridge.

まだ食(た)べていますか。

Are you still eating!?

「お前(まえ)にはまだ早(はや)いよ。」

''It is still too early for you.'

まだ雨(あめ)が降(ふ)っているの？

It's still raining?

まだ足(あし)が痛(いた)い。

My foot still hurts.

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まだ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

Jake
still・not yet
Structure
- まだ + Noun + が・(いる or ある)
- まだ + Verb[て] + いる
View on Bunpro
s1212z
Trying to find differences be between まだ and 依然（いぜん). According to a Jisho forum, the former leans towards more negative nuance and the later more positive. From the BP entries, which most read neutral to me given they are out of context, what would be acceptable to be replaced with 依然?
Ambo100

"Please note this is my limited understanding:

まだ and 依然 both mean “not yet” or “still” ( there may be some other usages, and I’m more familiar with this “依然として” expression).

まだ is more casual, 依然 sounds polite/official/formal.
I don’t use 依然 when I talk with my friends. I use まだ instead.
まだ can be used in both casual and formal situation. It is fine when news casters use まだ as well as 依然, and they can be used interchangeably."

HiNative
RezoneH
if i want to mean,

It’s been a year since we met, how much I missed you, how are you, what have you been doing since we haven’t seen each other? Are you still studying Japanese?

まだんほんごのべんきょうをするの ?
mada nihongo no benkyou wo suru no?

can i say like this? is it correct meaning with what i mean?

i do not want to mean,
You were studying Japanese 5 hours ago. You still have your Japanese book open in front of you on the desk. Are you still studying japanese?

mada nihongo no benkyou wo shiteiru no?
Fuga
Hey @RezoneH !

To say ‘Are you still studying Japanese’, you would say まだ日本語を勉強しているの? Here this ている is used since it is describing an action is not ‘continuing’, but happens so often that they are considered to be continuous.

The ている used in the second example you provided is this since it is used in a context where the person is in the constant state of ‘doing’ a verb.

I hope this answers your question!
RezoneH

Fuga:

まだ日本語を勉強しているの?

So, for the both 2 scenario there is only 1 possible saying.
both are: まだ日本語を勉強しているの?
if i mean,
You were studying Japanese intensively last year. It seems like you haven’t stopped working, you continue working regularly.
The expression of this sentence in Japanese is, “mada nihongo wo benkyou shiteiru no?”

Did I understand correctly?
Fuga
There are many ways that both of these can be expressed! However, if you want to say ‘still doing 〜’, some form of ている will be used.