また, or
又(また) in it's kanji form, is an expression which means 'again', 'additionally', 'also', or 'moreover'. This may seem confusing at first, but it may be easier to think of
また as meaning 'repetition of (A)', where (A) is any particular course of action. This repetition is a bit different to English, in that it can express the same action, or an alternative option.
また can be used as an
adverb, or as a
conjunction. In this lesson, we will focus on its use as a conjunction.
As with many other conjunctions in Japanese, a phrase/sentence can begin with
また, so long as that sentence expresses a complete thought.
また遊(あそ)ぼうね!
Let's hang out again!
また行(い)こうね!
Let's go again!
Due to
また being quite different to any single word that we have in English, let's try to make the meaning a bit clearer. Imagine that '(A) action always has (B) result'. However, the action which leads to the (B) result could be many different things. Because of this,
また can have the following meanings.
The same (A) action is taken - Has the nuance of 'again', or 'moreover'.
A different (A) action is taken - Has the nuance of 'also', and 'additionally'.