Number + も — As many/much as (emphasis on quantity)
も after a number/quantity emphasizes the amount as surprisingly large. "As many as / as much as." (For 'even as little as', a small quantity + も is used with a negative.)
Structure
[Number/Quantity] + も
Examples
宿題が10ページもある！
Shukudai ga juu peeji mo aru!
There's as much as 10 pages of homework!
10ページも = as many as 10 pages (more than expected)
5時間も待ったのに、来なかった。
Gojikan mo matta noni, konakatta.
I waited as long as 5 hours, but he didn't come.
5時間も = as long as 5 hours (unexpectedly long)
彼は1日にコーヒーを10杯も飲む。
Kare wa ichinichi ni koohii o juppai mo nomu.
He drinks as many as 10 cups of coffee a day.
10杯も = as many as 10 cups (a surprisingly large amount)
• Key Concept: 数 + も (affirmative) = a lot, more than expected. • With small quantity + negative: 一円もない (don't have even a single yen) — emphasizes 'not even'. • Contrast: 5時間も待った (waited a whole 5 hours! surprising) vs 5時間しか待てない (can only wait 5 hours, limiting).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones Number is tested against.
vs 〜しか〜ない
Number + も emphasizes a large/surprising quantity affirmatively ('as many as'); 〜しか〜ない emphasizes a small quantity with a negative verb ('only ~ / no more than').
vs 〜だけ
だけ neutrally limits ('just/only ~'); Number + も does the opposite, stressing that the amount is greater than expected.
More particles
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