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何でも (なんでも, nandemo) Japanese meaning: anything | Kotomora

なんでも

な

ん

で

も

Common word›JLPTN3›

Meanings

1

anything; whatever; everything

usually written using kana alone

Used as a noun or in expressions to mean 'any kind of thing', 'no matter what', or 'everything'. Often appears with particles like でも, も, or in phrases like 何でもない.

何

なん

で

も

好す

き

な

もの

を

選えら

ん

で

いい

よ

。

You can choose anything you like.

彼かれは何なんでも知しっている。

He knows everything.

2

I hear; they say; apparently

usually written using kana alone

Used at the beginning of a sentence to indicate that the following information is hearsay or something the speaker has heard. Often followed by そうだ or ということだ.

何なんでも、明日あしたは雪ゆきが降ふるそうだ。
I hear it's going to snow tomorrow.
何なんでも、彼かれは来らい月げつ引ひっ越こすらしい。
Apparently, he's moving next month.

Kanji

何what

Related words

何なにかN4
何か points to one unspecified, limited thing, whereas 何でも means 'anything at all' with no restriction on what is meant.
何なんなりN1
何でも is the everyday, casual way to say 'anything at all', while 何なり is a more formal, polite word typically used when offering someone a choice or invitation.
なんでもかんでもN1
何でも means 'anything/whatever' in a neutral sense, while 何でもかんでも adds emphasis on indiscriminate or excessive inclusion, often with a critical tone.
何なにもかも
何でも means 'anything/whatever' and focuses on any single item chosen freely, while 何もかも means 'everything' as a collective, exhaustive whole.
どれでも
何でも means 'anything at all' with a broader, less choice-specific scope, while どれでも refers to picking any one item from a specific set already presented.

Don't confuse with

何なにもN3sense 1
何も pairs with negative predicates to mean 'nothing at all', whereas 何でも is affirmative and means 'anything/everything'.
何なにかN4sense 1
何か means 'something' (one unspecified thing), while 何でも means 'anything at all' (no restriction on which thing).
なんでもかんでもN1
何でも is the plain word for 'anything', while 何でもかんでも is its emphatic, doubled form used to criticize excessive or indiscriminate behavior.

Etymology

Compound of 何 (nani, 'what') + でも (de mo, 'even if'). The adverbial hearsay sense likely developed from the idea of 'whatever it may be, I hear that...'.

何なんともN2

何でも means 'anything/whatever', while 何とも (similar in form) means 'not at all' or 'really/very' and is not interchangeable with it.