どんなに〜ても

No Matter How

Level 3Sounds Like donnani~temo

どんなに〜ても means "No matter how [much/hard/long/etc.]..." It emphasizes that even if a situation reaches an extreme level, the outcome in the second clause does not change.

How It Works

どんなに〜ても is a staple of intermediate Japanese used for extreme concession. It highlights that no matter how high the degree of the first clause is, the second clause remains true.

Construction:

  • Verbs: どんなに + te-form + も
    Example: どんなに走っても（はしっても） (No matter how much I run)
  • い-Adjectives: どんなに + 〜くて + も
    Example: どんなに高くても（たかくても） (No matter how expensive it is)
  • な-Adjectives: どんなに + na-Adjective Stem + でも
    Example: どんなに大変でも（たいへんでも） (No matter how tough it is)
  • Nouns: どんなに + Noun + でも
    Example: どんなに金持ちでも（かねもちでも） (No matter how rich someone is)

Synonyms and Variations:
どんなに can often be replaced by いくら, どれだけ, or どれほど. However, there is a slight nuance: どんなに strictly emphasizes degree, intensity, or state ("no matter how intensely/to what extent"), whereas いくら leans more toward quantity, amount, or frequency ("no matter how much/many times"). Because どんなに emphasizes degree, it is most natural with gradable nouns (like 金持ち). For non-gradable nouns (like 子供), いくら is more natural (e.g., いくら子供でも). In casual speech, the 〜ても part often changes to 〜たって (or 〜だって for nouns and な-adjectives). For nouns and な-adjectives, であっても can be used instead of でも in slightly more formal or written contexts.

Nuance and Usage:
While たとえ〜ても focuses on a hypothetical "even if," どんなに〜ても specifically emphasizes the degree or intensity. Importantly, unlike たとえ〜ても, どんなに〜ても can be used for facts and things that have already happened in the past (e.g., どんなに頑張っても、ダメだった - No matter how hard I tried, it was no good). It often carries an emotional weight, expressing the speaker's determination or a surprising lack of change despite great effort or extreme conditions. Furthermore, the second clause frequently uses negative forms (such as the plain negative) or potential negatives to show that the desired outcome cannot be reached despite the extreme condition.

Note: Do not confuse this with the exclamatory どんなにか or どんなに〜ことか, which are used to emphasize a feeling (e.g., "You don't know how happy I am!") rather than setting up a conditional "no matter how" relationship.

Examples (4)

  1. どんなに練習（れんしゅう）しても、なかなか上手（じょうず）になりません。

    No matter how much I practice, I just don't get any better.

    Word by Word: No matter how practice do-even-if, easily skillful become-not.

    Here, the speaker emphasizes that the intensity of practice (degree) does not change the outcome of not improving.

  2. どんなに忙（いそが）しくても、一日に一回（いっかい）は家族（かぞく）に電話（でんわ）するようにしている。

    No matter how busy I am, I make it a point to call my family once a day.

    Word by Word: No matter how busy-even-if, one day in one time as-for family to phone doing-am.

    The degree of 'busyness' does not stop the speaker from performing the action in the second clause.

  3. どんなに古（ふる）くても、この時計（とけい）は私（わたし）にとって大切（たいせつ）な宝物（たからもの）です。

    No matter how old it is, this watch is a precious treasure to me.

    Word by Word: No matter how old-even-if, this watch as-for me for precious treasure is.

    This shows the pattern used with an い-adjective (古い) to describe a state of being.

  4. どんなに嫌（きら）いでも、野菜（やさい）を食（た）べなければなりません。

    No matter how much you hate them, you must eat your vegetables.

    Word by Word: No matter how dislike-even-if, vegetables (object) eat-must.

    This demonstrates the use with a な-adjective (嫌い), which requires 'でも' instead of 'ても'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dictionary form of い-adjectives instead of the te-form.

    どんなに暑いも、エアコンをつけません。
    どんなに暑くても、エアコンをつけません。

    Adjectives must be conjugated to their te-form (〜くて) before adding も. You cannot attach も directly to the dictionary form.

  • Using だても instead of でも for nouns and な-adjectives.

    どんなに大変だても、頑張ります。
    どんなに大変でも、頑張ります。

    For nouns and な-adjectives, the correct form is でも. Do not use だても, as the te-form of the copula だ is simply で.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

どんなに〜てもLevel 3No Matter How

Learn This First

To understand 'どんなに〜ても', you first need to be comfortable conjugating verbs and adjectives into the te-form. You also need to understand how the particle 'も' functions to create concessive 'even if' statements, and how interrogative words like 'どんな' function to express degree or extent.

Words in This Pattern

どんなにても