LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 126 JLPT N4
Even If (ても)
ても attaches to a verb’s て-form or an adjective/noun’s で-form, and means “even if” or “even though,” stating that the following result holds true no matter what.
Takuya does his best even when the work is tough.
He comes to the office even if he catches a cold.
In Real Life
ても builds directly on て, which you already know, plus も, “even.” な-adjectives and nouns use でも instead of だ, 大変でも, い-adjectives drop い for くても, 忙しくても, following the same pattern as すぎる and ほうがいい.
Even once morning comes, I can't get up.
I'll take on the challenge even if it's difficult work.
In Real Life
ても pairs naturally with a negative result, “even if X, still can’t Y,” making it useful for describing something stubbornly unaffected by a condition that should normally change it, an alarm that keeps ringing, a habit that won’t budge.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to complain | |
| to take on a challenge | |
| good at, one's strength | |
| to do one's best | |
| overtime work | |
| to catch a cold | |
| to get hungry | |
| feeling | |
| to relax | |
| adult | |
| unchanging | |
| no matter how | |
| to give up | |
| to continue | |
| not necessarily, not limited to | |
| condition | |
| to resist | |
| unchangingly, still | |
| unreasonable, impossible | |
| in the end |