疑問詞＋ても

Attach a question word to the ても pattern and you get "no matter how much/what…": いくら考えても (no matter how much I think), 何を食べても (no matter what I eat), 誰に聞いても (no matter who I ask), どこへ行っても (no matter where I go). Among these, いくら〜ても "no matter how much" is the most common combination; どんなに〜ても means the same and is more emphatic.

The second clause is usually an unchanging result, very often in the negative: いくら考えても、分かりません (no matter how much I think about it, I don't understand). The nuance is "the result stays the same, regardless of the degree or choice in the first clause."

Be careful to distinguish this from question word + でも (何でも、誰でも — "any…"): that pattern attaches でも directly to the question word, with no verb in between; this pattern is a whole clause conjugated into て-form + も. Compare: 何でも食べます (I eat anything) ↔ 何を食べても太りません (no matter what I eat, I don't gain weight).

Examples

• いくら考(かんが)えても、答(こた)えが分(わ)かりませんでした。

  No matter how much I thought, I couldn't figure out the answer.

• この店(みせ)は何(なに)を食(た)べても、おいしいです。

  At this restaurant, no matter what you order, it's delicious.

• 誰(だれ)に聞(き)いても、道(みち)が分(わ)かりませんでした。

  No matter who I asked, I couldn't find the way.

Related patterns

• 〜ても
• 疑問詞＋でも