GRAMMAR DETAIL
どんなに〜ても
Presents a condition with no limit on its degree while maintaining the judgment that follows.
Examples
どんなに忙しくても、食事の時間は守る。
No matter how busy I am, I keep to my regular mealtimes.
Words used
どんなに急いでも、約束の時間には間に合わない。
No matter how much we hurry, we will not make it by the agreed time.
Words used
Study notes
1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning
- Structure: Use degree-marking
どんなにwithても・でもto maintain a judgment even as the degree increases. - Basic usage:
どんなに忙しくても、食事の時間は守る。keeps mealtimes fixed regardless of how busy things are.
2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions
- Asking about degree and conceding any degree
どのくらい忙しいですかasks how busy someone is.どんなに忙しくても休むdoes not request a degree as an answer; it maintains the decision to rest at any degree.
- The following clause need not be negative
どんなに急いでも間に合わないstates a limit, whileどんなに忙しくても連絡するstates an action one will keep to. The key is maintaining the conclusion despite variation in degree.