"Even if" and "even though"
ても is "even if" and "even though" in one form: something happens, or is so, and it changes nothing. For something that really is so, のに is "even though" said with feeling: surprise, disappointment, a complaint. The choice turns on whether it really is so, and on how you feel about it.
| Form | What it says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| ても | "Even if", and a calm "even though" | Everyday |
| のに | "Even though", with surprise or a complaint | Everyday |
| くせに | "Even though", blaming someone | Casual speech: quarrels, grumbling |
| いくら～ても, どんなに～ても | "No matter how (much)" | Everyday |
| たとえ～ても | "Even if", about something you imagine | Promises, speeches, song lyrics |
| たって | The same as ても | Casual speech, text messages |
ても: it changes nothing
Full pageても・
ても is "even if", where たら is a plain "if".
Even if it rains, I'll go.
The rain changes nothing.
What comes before ても may be something that could happen or something that already has. ても is the same for both and has no past form: the end of the sentence shows the time.
Even if it gets late, please be sure to call.
Even though I took the medicine, my fever didn't go down.
It happened, so English says "even though".
Even a beginner can take part in this course.
After a noun it is でも, and English often says just "even".
のに: it should have been different
Full pageのにN4
のに comes after a fact that would make you expect something else, and it puts your feeling into the sentence. The plain "but", けど, only sets the two facts side by side. After a noun or a な-adjective it is なのに.
This bag was expensive, and yet it broke almost at once.
Even though it was Sunday, my father went off to work.
Even though she is busy, she volunteers every week.
No complaint here. You are surprised, and impressed.
People often stop at のに and leave the disappointing part unsaid. せっかく, "after going to the trouble", often comes with it.
After I went to the trouble of making it.
Said when someone won't eat what you cooked.
ても or のに?
What hasn't happened yet takes ても. Something that really is so can often take either: here it is raining now, and the match goes on.
The match is continuing even though it is raining.
Calm. The rain hasn't changed anything.
Even though it is raining, the match is still continuing.
Surprised or worried. You'd expect it to have stopped.
Where it goes wrong
What follows のに is how things are or how they turned out. A request or a suggestion can't follow it, though one can follow ても.
Not said: 雨なのに、
(Even though it's raining, let's go.)
雨だけど、行きましょう, or 雨でも行きましょう.
でも goes after a noun or a な-adjective. An い-adjective takes くても.
Not said: 寒いでも、
(Even if it's cold, I open the window.)
寒くても.
くせに: even though, with blame
Full pageくせにN3
くせに is "even though" said with blame or a sneer: given who someone is or what they know, they should act differently. Both halves are about the person you are blaming, and you don't normally say it about yourself. There is no polite way to say it, so it isn't said to a boss or a customer.
Even though my younger brother has plenty of free time, he won't help with the housework.
You are let down.
My younger brother has plenty of free time, and he still doesn't help with the housework at all.
You are attacking him: he has no excuse.
He is the one in charge, and yet whenever something goes wrong he blames someone else.
After a noun it is のくせに.
You know you like him really.
Between friends it can be teasing. People often stop at くせに.
いくら, どんなに and たとえ in front of ても
Full pageどんなに～ても・
With いくら or どんなに in front, a ても sentence means "no matter how (much)". The two words mean the same. A question word such as 何 works the same way: "whatever".
No matter how busy I am, I always eat breakfast.
No matter how many times I explained, he wasn't convinced.
This one really happened.
At this restaurant, whatever you eat is delicious.
たとえ goes in front too, and says from the first word that an "even if" is coming. It is about something you imagine, often something extreme, so it can't report what really happened.
Even if everyone in the world laughs at me, I will not give up on my dream.
たって: ても in casual speech
Full pageたってN3
A verb takes its た-form and って, and after a noun でも becomes だって.
Even if it rains tomorrow, the festival will be held.
The full form, for speech and writing alike.
Even if it rains tomorrow, we are still having the festival.
To a friend. The た isn't past: this is about tomorrow.
Even a child understands that much.
それでも and それなのに: starting a new sentence
Other things のに and でも can mean
ば～のに・たら～のにN3Regret
At the end of an "if" sentence, のに says it isn't so, and that you wish it were.
If I had the money, I'd buy a new car.
After a verb in the dictionary form, のに can also be "for doing" or "to do": 駅まで歩くのに二十分かかります, "it takes twenty minutes to walk to the station".