words - How can I differentiate between 「もう」 that means "already" and 「もう」 that means "more/additional"?

I noticed that 「もう」 can mean both "already" and "additional", such as the following sentence:

もう二本飲みましたよ。

Can mean either one of:

1. I already drank two glasses.



2. I drank additional two glasses.

How can I differentiate between the two meanings?

Answer

I guess that the most reliable way is decide from the context. But at least in the Tokyo dialect and other dialects with the same accent pattern, they have different accents.

• I think that もう meaning “already” is pronounced as HL (where H is high and L is low). Therefore もうにほん becomes HLHLL.


• もう meaning “additional” is pronounced as LH. Therefore もうにほん becomes LHHLL. This can be confirmed by the Daijirin dictionary. This meaning is shown as 1-[3], and the small “0” at the beginning of this meaning means that the “standard” accent is LH.