～ても: How to Say "Even If" and "Even Though" in Japanese

～ても is the te-form of a predicate (a verb, adjective, or noun phrase) plus the particle も. It covers both "even if" (a hypothetical that does not change the outcome) and "even though" (a real fact that does not).¹² The same te-form + も shape also powers いくら〜ても and the question-word + ても patterns you meet later. Learn it once, and you unlock a whole family of concessive expressions.

Overview

～ても is a JLPT N4 grammar point taught at the elementary level, introduced in Genki II as a Chapter 23 pattern.¹ It is built from two pieces you already control: the て-form and the particle も.¹²

The construction marks a 逆接 (gyakusetsu), a "reverse" or "adversative" connection. It signals that the result in the main clause holds contrary to what the subordinate clause would lead you to expect.²³

What ～ても is built from

～ても is the te-form of a predicate plus the particle も.¹² For nouns and な-adjectives, the te-form of the copula is で. The same も attaches to で and surfaces as でも.³ The te-form here is the same one used across Japanese for linking, cause, and continuation. The particle も is the same "even / also" も you meet on its own.

The concessive reading ("even if / even though") comes from applying that "even" sense to a whole clause: "even doing X" stretches to "even if X."³⁴

高たかくても買かいます。⁵
"I'll buy it even if it's expensive."

彼かれは貧まずしくても幸しあわせだ。³
"He is happy even though he is poor."

～ても is register-neutral and appears in both speech and writing.¹²

Even if vs even though: one form, two readings

The same ～ても shape has two English readings that Japanese does not formally distinguish. Context decides which applies.⁶

The hypothetical "even if" reading appears when the subordinate clause gives an unrealized or uncertain condition. The main clause is typically non-past. The outcome holds regardless of whether the condition comes true.⁶

The factual "even though" reading appears when the subordinate clause describes something already true or actually occurring; the concession is to a real fact.⁶³

雨あめが降ふっても、テニスに行いきます。⁶
"Even if it rains, I'll go play tennis."

雨あめが降ふっていても、ゲームは楽たのしかった。³
"Even though it was raining, the game was fun."

The ～ても clause carries no tense of its own

The ～ても clause is tenseless in itself. It does not mark its own tense and can be followed by either a non-past or a past main clause.¹ A past main clause typically yields the factual "even though" reading.³

たくさんサラダを食たべても、お腹なかいっぱいにならないんですよ。⁷
"Even if I eat a lot of salad, I don't get full."

Form and conjugation

The pattern attaches to the te-form of the predicate you are conceding to. Each predicate type forms its te-form a little differently, but the final step is always the same: add も.

Predicate type	Base	Te-form step	+ も
Verb	行いく	行いって	行いっても
い-adjective	高たかい	高たかくて	高たかくても
Noun / な-adjective	学生がくせい	学生がくせいで	学生がくせいでも
Negative	行いかない	行いかなくて	行いかなくても

Verbs: て-form + も

Take the verb's て-form and add も.¹²⁵ Because the rule operates on the て-form, the same voicing alternation applies. After a で-ending te-form, も attaches to で (for example 読よむ → 読よんで → 読よんでも).⁶

試合しあいに負まけても、諦あきらめません。⁷
"Even if I lose the match, I won't give up."

靴下くつしたを履はいても、足あしが冷つめたいです。⁷
"Even if I put socks on, my feet are cold."

い-adjectives: ～くても

Drop the final い and attach くて + も. This is the い-adjective te-form (くて) plus も.¹⁵ So 高たかい → 高たかくて → 高たかくても, and 悲かなしい → 悲かなしくても.¹ The negative form of an い-adjective is ～くなくても (for example 大おおきい → 大おおきくなくても, "even if it isn't big").⁶

どんなに忙いそがしくても、毎日まいにち勉強べんきょうします。⁶
"No matter how busy I am, I study every day."

歯はが痛いたくて、何なにを食たべても美味おいしくない。⁸
"My tooth hurts, so whatever I eat doesn't taste good."

Nouns and な-adjectives: ～でも

Attach でも to the bare noun or な-adjective stem: 学生がくせい → 学生がくせいでも; 静しずか(な) → 静しずかでも; 元気げんき(な) → 元気げんきでも.¹² も surfaces as でも because で is the te-form of the copula (だ / である). So noun or な-adjective + でも is structurally "copula te-form + も," the same construction as verb and adjective ～ても.³

This でも branch is the one other grammar pages most often skip. It behaves as an adverbial particle, and native speakers debate whether it is one word or で + も.⁷ The negatives follow the same logic: noun or な-adjective + でなくても, "even if it is not ..." (for example 学生がくせいでなくても; 上手じょうずでなくても).⁷⁶

学生がくせいでも、入はいれます。⁵
"Even if you're a student, you can get in."

静しずかでも、集中しゅうちゅうできません。³
"Even if it's quiet, I can't concentrate."

Negative: ～なくても

Negate the predicate first. Then apply the same te-form + も pattern. A negated verb or い-adjective ends in ～ない. Its te-form is ～なくて, giving ～なくても: 行いく → 行いかない → 行いかなくても, "even if (I) don't go."⁶

The same negative ～なくても develops into the "you don't have to" exemption pattern ～なくてもいい. That pattern has its own article on saying you do not have to do something.⁶⁴

行いかなくても、大丈夫だいじょうぶです。⁶
"Even if I don't go, it'll be fine."

安やすくなくても、買かいます。⁶
"Even if it isn't cheap, I'll buy it."

Nuance and usage contexts

The outcome does not change

The core meaning is this: a condition or fact A holds, yet the main-clause outcome B happens (or fails to happen) anyway, contrary to expectation.²⁷³ The construction emphasizes that the result does not change, regardless of the condition.⁷

This is what separates ～ても from ordinary conditionals. With たら, ば, or と, condition A produces the expected result. With ～ても, A would normally be expected to block or change B, but B happens regardless.⁶

A useful way to picture the split is this: a plain conditional links A to its expected consequence, while ～ても breaks that link and lets the main clause defy it.

雨あめが降ふっても、試合しあいは中止ちゅうしになりません。⁶
"Even if it rains, the match won't be canceled."

トレーニングをしても、痩やせない。⁷
"Even if I work out, I don't lose weight."

いくら〜ても: no matter how much

This is an N3-level extension of the same construction.⁹¹⁰ An intensifying adverb comes before a ～ても clause to mean "however much / no matter how (much) A, still B." Common intensifiers include いくら, どんなに, and 何回なんかい ("how many times").⁹¹⁰⁸ The main clause B usually highlights something negative or unexpected. This gives the "no matter how much, still ..." nuance.⁹

The reported split between the two most common intensifiers is a soft tendency, not a hard rule. Sources note that they are largely interchangeable: いくら〜ても leans toward amount, quantity, or number of repetitions, while どんなに〜ても leans toward degree, manner, or intensity.¹⁰⁸

いくら頼たのんでも、無理むりです。¹⁰
"No matter how much you ask, it's impossible."

どんなに疲つかれていても、毎日まいにち勉強べんきょうします。⁶
"No matter how tired I am, I study every day."

Question word + ても: whatever, whoever, whenever (preview)

This is also an N3-level extension of the same ～ても / でも construction. Here, it works as a universal quantifier: a question word (何なに, 誰だれ, いつ, どこ, どの, and others) inside a ～ても clause yields "no matter what / who / when / where," that is, "whatever / whoever / whenever."⁸

どこに行いっても、混こんでいる。⁸
"Wherever you go, it's crowded."

何なにを食たべても、美味おいしくない。⁸
"Whatever I eat, it doesn't taste good."

The full treatment, including the でも branch and the inclusive versus exclusive readings, belongs to the dedicated article on question word + ても. The lines above are a preview only.

Register and where ても appears

～ても is neutral, everyday register and occurs in both spoken and written Japanese.¹²

More formal or written-leaning concessives cover overlapping ground but carry their own register and nuance. These include のに ("even though / despite"), ものの ("although"), and にしても ("even considering").²

Good to know

Why も, and not が or けど

The concessive force of ～ても comes from the core meaning of も, "even / also": "even doing X" stretches to "even if / even though X."³⁴ が and けど simply link two clauses with a plain "but." Only the も in ～ても adds the "even" emphasis that says the outcome holds against expectation. Anchoring ～ても to the standalone も particle makes the meaning self-explaining.⁴

でも the sentence-opening conjunction vs ～でも the ても branch

A common N4-level mistake is reading 学生がくせいでも入はいれます as "But students can enter," treating でも as the conjunction "but." The correct parse is "Even if you're a student, you can enter," where でも is noun + でも meaning "even if it is ...".⁷

学生がくせいでも、入はいれます。⁵
"Even if you're a student, you can get in."

Sentence-initial でも is a conjunction meaning "but / however" that stands at the head of a new sentence. The ～でも here is an attached particle (で + も) on a noun or な-adjective. The two are told apart by position and function, not by spelling.³

でも is で (the copula te-form) + も

Knowing that noun or な-adjective + でも is literally "copula te-form + も" makes the branch follow from the same rule as verb and い-adjective ～ても. It does not have to look like a separate form to memorize.³ Imabi states that でも comes from the te-form of だ plus も.³

～てもいい is just this ～ても plus いい

～てもいい (permission) breaks down transparently as ～ても ("even if you do X") plus いい ("it's good / fine"). Together they give "even if you do X, it's fine," which is how Japanese says "you may do X."⁴ Tofugu breaks it into て from the て-form, the particle も, and the word いい.⁴ If you see ～てもいい as ～ても + いい, and ～なくてもいい as ～なくても + いい, the permission pattern needs no separate rule.

See also

• Question Word + ても / でも in Japanese: Whatever, Whoever, Wherever
• ～てもいい / ～てはいけない: How to Ask Permission and State Prohibition in Japanese
• ～なくてもいい / ～なくていい: How to Say "You Don't Have To" in Japanese
• ～にもかかわらず: How to Say "In Spite Of" Formally in Japanese
• The さえ Particle: Even
• N1 Set Phrases Reference: A Glossed Catalog of Advanced Japanese Grammar

References

Footnotes

1. Banno, Eri, et al. Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. 2nd or 3rd ed. The Japan Times, Tokyo. ～ても is introduced as a Lesson (Chapter) 23 grammar point. Indexed and summarized at the St. Olaf College Japanese Program grammar index. https://wp.stolaf.edu/japanese/grammar-index/genki-i-ii-grammar-index/temo-genki-ii-chapter-23/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. The Japan Times, Tokyo, 1989, pp. 471–473 (entry for ても temo). ISBN 978-4-7890-0454-1. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

3. Imabi. "The Particle でも." https://imabi.org/the-particle-%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82/ (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

4. Tofugu. "〜てもいい for Permissions." https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/temoii/ (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

5. JLPT Sensei. "JLPT N4 Grammar: ても (temo) Meaning." https://jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82-temo-meaning/ (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. Maggie Sensei. "How to use verb + ても (= temo)." https://maggiesensei.com/2015/06/22/how-to-use-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82-temo/ (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵

7. Bunpro. "ても (JLPT N4)." Grammar reference page. https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82 (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

8. Maggie Sensei. "Wh-ever / No matter wh-/how: ても・でも (= temo/demo)." https://maggiesensei.com/2016/10/12/wh-everno-matter-whhow-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82-temodemo/ (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

9. Bunpro. "いくら〜でも (JLPT N3)." Grammar reference page. https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%84%E3%81%8F%E3%82%89-%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82 (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Bunpro. "どんなに〜ても (JLPT N3)." Grammar reference page. https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%A9%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA%E3%81%AB-%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82 (limitation) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴