ても details
write + (and…) + even if
kaite mo
even if; even though; no matter
meaning: even if you write
今から急いでも、終電には間に合わないよ。
ima kara isoide mo, shuuden ni wa maniawanai yo.
You won't make the last train even if you hurry now. casual
何度読んでも、この段落の意味が分からない。
nando yonde mo, kono danraku no imi ga wakaranai.
No matter how many times I read it, I can't work out what this paragraph means. neutral
- colloquial
Examples
even if / even though — the expected consequence fails to follow (incl. いくら〜ても intensified)
今から急いでも、終電には間に合わないよ。
ima kara isoidemo, shuuden ni wa maniawanai yo.
You won't make the last train even if you hurry now. casual
予約しても、当日は少し待つことがあります。
yoyakushitemo, toujitsu wa sukoshi matsu koto ga arimasu.
There may be a short wait on the day even if you book. neutral
雨が降っても、試合は予定どおり行われます。
ame ga futte mo, shiai wa yoteidoori okonawaremasu.
Even if it rains, the match will go ahead as scheduled. neutral
いくら押しても開かないんだけど。
ikura oshite mo akanai n da kedo.
No matter how much I push, it just won't open. casual
たとえ費用がかかっても、安全を優先すべきです。
tatoe hiyou ga kakatte mo, anzen o yuusen subeki desu.
Even if it costs more, safety should come first. formal
no matter who / what / how — 誰/何/どこ + ても, the concession generalized over a wh-word
何度読んでも、この段落の意味が分からない。
nando yonde mo, kono danraku no imi ga wakaranai.
No matter how many times I read it, I can't work out what this paragraph means. neutral
Formation
{V-te}もattaches to て-formi-adj stem + くても (たかくても)attaches to i-adjectivena-adj + でもattaches to na-adjective{N}でもattaches to noun
Variant notes
- たって — casual speech — 行[い]ったって、いくら押[お]したって; voices like the た-form (飲[の]んだって).
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
Both suppose a situation on the same た／て morphology, then split — たら makes the outcome hinge on the condition (降ったら中止), ても concedes the supposition changes nothing (降っても決行); swapping them flips the sentence's logic.
ても can concede a mere supposition (雨が降っても行く plans around rain); のに cannot — it protests a realized fact whose expected consequence failed (雨なのに行く — it is actually raining).
Lookalikes
ても alone concedes ("even if"); adding いい turns the concession into permission — the shared ても opening invites misparsing mid-sentence.