Grammar › Connecting Ideas
たとえ〜ても — “even if”
Sets up a hypothetical and says the outcome won't change no matter what
たとえ pairs with a verb/adjective in the ても form (でも for nouns/na-adjectives) to mean “even if X (happens), Y still holds” — it emphasizes that the following result is unshakeable regardless of the condition. たとえ itself is optional but adds emphasis, much like “even” in English.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| たとえ + verb-ても | たとえ雨が降っても、行きます — Even if it rains, I'm going |
| たとえ + na-adj/noun + でも | たとえ有名でも、態度は変わらない — Even if (they're) famous, their attitude doesn't change |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| たとえ失敗しても、諦めません。 | たとえしっぱいしても、あきらめません。 tatoeshippaishitemo、akiramemasen。 | Even if I fail, I won't give up. |
| たとえ高くても、この時計を買いたいです。 | たとえたかくても、このとけいをかいたいです。 tatoetakakutemo、konotokeiwokaitaidesu。 | Even if it's expensive, I want to buy this watch. |
| たとえ子供でも、その意味は分かるはずです。 | たとえこどもでも、そのいみはわかるはずです。 tatoekodomodemo、sonoimihawakaruhazudesu。 | Even a child should understand the meaning of that. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
Don't confuse ても (even if — hypothetical or contrary-to-expectation) with と/たら/ば (plain conditionals) — たとえ signals that the result is fixed and unaffected by the condition.