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Gogaku

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N4

〜ても

Even if… (concession)machine translation

Formationて-form + も (verbs: 行っても; い-adjectives: 高くても; nouns and な-adjectives: 雨でも・暇でも)

ても is the CONTRARY conditional: "even if A, B still happens." While たら・ば・と say "if A, then B follows," ても says the opposite — B happens regardless of A. Forming it is very familiar: take the て-form and add も. い-adjectives become くても (高くても); nouns and な-adjectives use でも (雨でも、暇でも).

Clause A can be a hypothetical that hasn't happened (雨が降っても行きます — even if it rains, I'll still go) or a general truth (いくら高くても — no matter how expensive). Compare this pair of sentences to see ても's role clearly: 雨が降ったら、行きません (if it rains, I won't go) ↔ 雨が降っても、行きます (even if it rains, I'll still go). Just swapping たら for ても flips the whole direction of the sentence.

Don't confuse it with two old acquaintances: 〜てもいい (permission to do something — which you learned at N5) is just ても plus いい turned into an asking-permission pattern, and のに also translates as "and yet" but is only used for things that HAVE actually happened, carrying a sense of surprise or regret. ても is broader: use it freely for both hypotheticals and facts, and the second clause is unrestricted — commands and expressions of intent are both fine.

Examples

Related patterns

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