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JLPT N3 · Conditionals (if / when)

どんなに～ても (donna ni~temo)

どんなに～ても — no matter how ～

In short · Says that the result stays the same however far the degree goes: “no matter how ～.” どんなに is followed by the て-form of a verb or adjective + も. The second half states something that does not change.
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Pattern

  • どんなに ＋ 動詞て形 ＋ も どんなに頑張っても (no matter how hard I try)
  • どんなに ＋ い形容詞〜くても／な形容詞・名詞〜でも どんなに高くても, どんなに有名でも

Unchanging result

The first half raises the degree to the maximum, and the second half says that nothing changes: どんなに頑張っても、彼に勝てない. The result is often negative or a strong will or duty: どんなに疲れていても日記を書く.

Similar expressions

いくら～ても means almost the same. どんなに can also be paired with the casual 〜たって. In the second half, you can use requests and intentions (unlike the plain ～ば), such as どんなに高くても買います.

Examples

  • どんなに頑張（がんば）っても、彼（かれ）に勝（か）てない。

    Donna ni ganbatte mo, kare ni katenai.

    No matter how hard I try, I can't beat him.

  • どんなに疲（つか）れていても、日記（にっき）だけは毎日（まいにち）書（か）く。

    Donna ni tsukarete ite mo, nikki dake wa mainichi kaku.

    No matter how tired I am, I write my diary every day.

  • どんなに高（たか）くても、この薬（くすり）は買（か）わなければならない。

    Donna ni takakute mo, kono kusuri wa kawanakereba naranai.

    No matter how expensive it is, I have to buy this medicine.

Common mistakes

  • Use the て-form + も: 頑張っても. Do not use the ば-form with どんなに.
  • For adjectives: い-adjective → くても, な-adjective and noun → でも.

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