まだ～ていませんmada te imasen“have not yet”

まだ～ていません is how you say “I haven’t done it yet” in Japanese. まだ means “yet” or “still”, and ～ていません is the negative of the ている form. Together they say that something expected has not happened up to now, but may still happen. It is JLPT N5 grammar and the standard answer when someone asks もう～ましたか？ (“Have you … already?”).

"Did you eat?" — "Not yet." In Japanese the "not yet" answer is まだ食べていません, not まだ食べませんでした.

What does まだ～ていません mean?

まだ～ていません describes the current state: the action has not been done, and you are still expecting it. English uses the present perfect for this (“I haven’t sent it yet”). Japanese uses the ている form, because ている can describe the state that results from an action. If you had eaten, you would be in the “have eaten” state. You are not in that state yet.

Natural English:

• I haven’t … yet
• It hasn’t … yet
• Not yet (as a short answer: まだです)

The key word is yet. The sentence leaves the door open. 宿題はまだ終わっていません means the homework will be finished at some point, just not now.

How to form まだ～ていません

Put まだ before the verb, change the verb to its て-form, and end with いません (polite) or いない (plain).

Some common verbs:

• 食べる → まだ食べていません (haven’t eaten)
• 見る → まだ見ていません (haven’t seen)
• 終わる → まだ終わっていません (isn’t finished)
• 来る → まだ来ていません (hasn’t come)
• 送る → まだ送っていません (haven’t sent)

Plain versions for friends: まだ食べていない, and in fast speech the い drops: まだ食べてない.

The position of まだ is flexible. It usually comes right before the verb phrase, but it can move after the topic: 宿題はまだ終わっていません and まだ宿題は終わっていません are both natural.

When is まだ～ていません used?

The most common situation is answering a もう question.

• A: もう昼ご飯を食べましたか。 (Have you had lunch yet?)
• B: いいえ、まだ食べていません。 (No, not yet.)

The short answer is just まだです (“not yet”). You can add the full verb when you want to be clear or polite.

Other everyday uses:

• Work and school updates: レポートはまだ出していません (I haven’t handed in the report yet).
• Waiting for someone: 田中さんはまだ来ていません (Tanaka hasn’t arrived yet).
• Things you plan to do: その映画はまだ見ていません (I haven’t seen that movie yet, but I want to).

The polite いません form is fine with teachers, coworkers and strangers. ていない／てない is for friends and family.

まだ～ていません example sentences

Nuance of まだ～ていません

It expects the action to happen. まだ～ていません implies “not yet, but it will”. Compare 田中さんは来ませんでした (Tanaka didn’t come; the event is over) with 田中さんはまだ来ていません (Tanaka hasn’t come yet; we are still waiting). The first closes the story. The second keeps it open.

Affirmative まだ～ています means “still”. Drop the negative and the meaning flips: まだ寝ています means “(he’s) still sleeping”. Listen carefully for います versus いません, because まだ is the same in both.

知る is an exception. The negative of 知っている is 知らない, not 知っていない. So “I don’t know yet” is まだ知りません. まだ知っていません sounds wrong to native speakers.

Experience is a different question. まだ行っていません means you have not gone yet on this occasion or for this plan. For “I have never been to…”, use たことがない: 日本へ行ったことがありません.

💡 Tip: Between friends, a one-word まだ is a complete answer. まだなんです adds an explaining tone, as if you are about to give a reason: まだなんです。忙しくて… (Not yet. I've been busy…).

まだ～ていません vs もう～ました

These are the two halves of one question-and-answer pair.

Notice the verb forms are not mirror images. “Already” uses the simple past ました. “Not yet” uses ていません, not ませんでした. For more on the word もう by itself, including its “anymore” meaning, see もう.

Common mistakes with まだ～ていません

Is まだ～ていません on the JLPT?

In listening, a question often depends on whether a task is done: “Has the man bought the tickets?” The speaker answers まだ買っていません, and you need to catch the ていません ending. In grammar items, expect a blank after まだ with ませんでした, ています and ていません as choices.

Practice questions for まだ～ていません

Learning path for まだ～ていません

Related grammar to review next

• まだ — the adverb itself, which means “still” with affirmative verbs and “not yet” with negative ones
• もう — the “already” partner that shows up in the question you answer with まだ～ていません
• ている — the form that ていません negates, including its resulting-state use
• たことがある — for “have never”, which is a different idea from “not yet”

Learn まだ～ていません with Hane

Hane gives you もう～ましたか questions and has you answer both ways, so まだ～ていません becomes your automatic “not yet”. Try it in Hane.