N4 Reporting Speech

まだ~ている: meaning, usage and examples

まだ~ている means: still…

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 弟おとうとはまだ寝ねています。

   My younger brother is still sleeping.

2. まだ仕事しごとが終おわっていません。

   The work is not finished yet.

3. 外そとはまだ雨あめが降ふっています。

   It's still raining outside.

4. 鈴木すずきさんはまだ会社かいしゃで働はたらいています。

   Ms. Suzuki is still working at the office.

When to use it

まだ ている means an action or state is still continuing: 弟おとうとはまだ寝ねています (my brother is still sleeping). With the negative, まだ ていない means something has not happened yet but is expected to: まだ仕事しごとが終おわっていません. Use it when you expected a change and it has not come.

Nuance

Neutral. The speaker often expected things to be different by now, so it can carry a little surprise or impatience. For "not yet", Japanese uses ていない, not the plain past negative: まだ食たべていません (not まだ食たべませんでした).

Compare

もう means the change has happened: もう寝ねています (already asleep), もう終おわりました. まだ is the opposite: まだ寝ねています, まだ終おわっていません. Answering もう食たべましたか, say いいえ、まだ食たべていません, or simply まだです. Do not answer with いいえ、食たべませんでした, which sounds like you refused or skipped the meal.

Tip: A common mistake is まだ食たべませんでした for "I have not eaten yet". Use まだ食たべていません: the ている shows the state of not having eaten continues now.