とも

See also: ども and 𪜈

Japanese

とも • (tomo)

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.^[1]

Ultimately derived from a compound of と (to, “case particle”) +‎ も (mo, “special auxiliary particle”).^[1]^[2]

とも • (tomo)

of course (as a particle used at the end of the sentence, which shows strong assertion)
必(かなら)ずやるとも。
Kanarazu yaru tomo.
I will do it, I assure you.

とも • (to mo)

also with (see と)
別(べつ)の友(とも)達(だち)とも行(い)った。
Betsu no tomodachi to mo itta.
I also went with a different friend as well.
also (called, to be said, etc.; see と)
『名(みょう)義(ぎ)抄(しょう)』ともいう。
“Myōgishō” to mo iu.
Also called the Myōgishō.

「ふいんき」とも読(よ)みます。
“Fuinki” to mo yomimasu.
Also read as ‘fuinki’.

主(しゅ)人(じん)公(こう)とも言(い)える人物(じんぶつ)。
Shujinkō to mo ieru jinbutsu.
A person whom one might also say is the protagonist.

古(ふる)くは「ラヂオ」とも表(ひょう)記(き)。
Furuku wa “rajio” to mo hyōki.
Formerly also written as ‘radio’.

一(いっ)説(せつ)には自(じ)殺(さつ)とも。
Issetsu ni wa jisatsu to mo.
Alternatively theorized to be a suicide.
(literary) even if
Synonym: ても (-te mo)

明日(あす)は無(な)くとも悔(く)いは無(な)し。
Asu wa naku to mo kui wa nashi.
Even if tomorrow will not come, I have no regrets.

明日(あす)は死(し)のうとも最(さい)後(ご)まで闘(たたか)うのだ。
Asu wa shinō to mo saigo made tatakau no da.
Even if I die tomorrow, I will fight until the end.

Alternative spellings
友朋

Extension of and cognate with 共 (tomo, “same, together”).^[3]

とも • (tomo)

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “とも”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ “とも”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN