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〜でも details

でも

even N; N or something — marks a noun as a surprising case, or names it loosely as a suggestion

これくらい、子供こどもでもかるよ。

kore kurai, kodomo demo wakaru yo.

Even a kid could work this much out. casual

ちゃでもみませんか。

ocha demo nomimasen ka.

Would you like some tea or something? neutral

Examples

even N — names the least likely member of a set to say something about all of them

これくらい、子供こどもでもかるよ。

kore kurai, kodomo demo wakaru yo.

Even a kid could work this much out. casual

そんな展開てんかいは、専門家せんもんかでも予測よそくできなかった。

sonna tenkai wa, senmonka demo yosoku dekinakatta.

Not even the experts could have predicted it would go that way. neutral

はじめてのかたでも安心あんしんしてお使つかいいただけます。

hajimete no kata demo anshin shite o tsukai itadakemasu.

Even first-time users can use it with confidence. formal

N or something — names one thing as a sample so the invitation or suggestion does not sound like a demand

ちゃでもみませんか。

ocha demo nomimasen ka.

Would you like some tea or something? neutral

ひまなら映画えいがでもこうよ。

hima nara eiga demo mi ni ikou yo.

If you're free, let's go and see a film or something. casual

からないことがあれば、先生せんせいにでもいてみたらどうですか。

wakaranai koto ga areba, sensei ni demo kiite mitara dou desu ka.

If there's anything you don't follow, why not ask a teacher or someone? neutral

Formation

Notes

The suggestion でも is not really offering a choice — おちゃでも
もう proposes tea, and the でも is there only to keep the invitation
from landing as a demand.

Related patterns

Similar

  • も simply adds the noun to others already in play (子供こどもかる, children understand as well); でも presents it as the unlikeliest member, so 子供こどもでもかる is a claim about how easy the thing is, not about who else understands.

  • だって does both of these jobs too (子供こどもだってかる) but belongs to spoken push-back and complaint; でも is register-neutral, which is why a notice writes はじめてのかたでも and never はじめてのかただって.

Lookalikes

  • With nothing in front of it, でも opens a sentence and pushes back on the last one ("but"); welded onto a noun it is this focus particle — 子供こどもでもかる is "even a child understands", never "but a child understands".

  • んでも is んで+も, and that で is the て-form ending, not this でも — which is why this one takes a bare noun, stacks after a case particle (先生せんせいにでも) and opens invitations (おちゃでも), none of which a ても clause can do; the concession itself does line up (子供こどもでもかる ≈ 子供こどもんでもかる).