まま？and reading Japanese

こんにちわ 日本語ごとてもたのしいですね！ Ive recently finished the beginner course and have started the advanced. I also purchased a manga book and began trying to read it thinking that it would be good to stretch my language usage. One of the first problems ive come across is the use of まま I cant really find it in any dictionary, and I also hear it alot in anime shows. I can only guess it has some colloquial usage im not familiar with. I was also curious if anyone had any suggestions or tips on reading Japanese, or how to see words and particles (excluding kanji since that's easy to see the difference). I seem to have a hard time discerning where a word stops, if a particle is at the end, or if there are just two words strung together...especially when there are particles being used i am unfamiliar with. ありがとうございます。よろしくおねがいします Dan

ダンさん、こんにちは！ It's great to hear that you are enjoying Japanese :P . As to the word まま , it depends on what context this is used. For example... :arrow: まま *'mama'* on it's own is often used an alternative way to call your own mom and is often heard used by younger children. :arrow: まあまあ *'maamaa'* with the double 'a' vowel sound is a very casual answer to a "How are you?" or "How's it going?" question - meaning _"so-so"_. :arrow: そのまま *'sono mama'* - when 'mama' is part of a phrase it suggests that something should remain JUST AS IT IS. So, for example, in *'sono mama'* 'sono' means "that way" - and thus そのまま means "as something has been right up until this moment in time" while このまま means "as something is right at this moment in time." This of it as something similar to the meaning of _"AS IS." _ -Sayaka :P