Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
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でも (Even)

でも (Even)

でも (Even) Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Particle

Essential Meaning: Even X

Construction: 

  • Noun + でも
    • E.g. 先生せんせいでも [Even a teacher]
  • Noun + Particle + でも
    • E.g. 先生せんせいとでも [Even with a teacher]

Notes:

  • X + でも basically means “Even X“. でも is comprised of the て-Form of the copula だ plus the particle も.
    • E.g. 子供こどもでも分わかる。[Even a child can understand.]
  • Noun marking particles が and を drop when でも is present, but other particles (e.g. と and から) remain.
  • でも is often idiomatically paired with WH-Question words, as in:
    • だれでも [No matter who / Anyone]
    • なんでも [No matter what it is / Anything]
    • いつでも [No matter when / Any time]
    • どこでも [No matter where / Any place]
    • どれでも [No matter which it is / Whichever]
  • Multiple instances of でも may be used to enumerate a list of でも nouns (i.e. “Even X, and even Y, and even Z“). This usage stems from the presence of も in でも).
    • E.g. あの人ひとは魚さかなでも肉にくでも食たべます。[That person can eat even fish and even meat.]
  • Beware of the fact that the particle でも looks identical to the で particle + も. The interpretation of whether a usage is でも or で +も depends on context.
    • E.g. 日本にほんでもインフレが大おおきな問題もんだいになっています。[Inflation is a big problem in Japan as well.] This is an example of で (Location) because the speaker is saying “In Japan…” rather than “Even Japan…“.
    • E.g. そこはバスでも行いけますか。[Can you also get there by bus?] This is an example of で (Means / Instrument) because the speaker is asking whether he or she is able to use the bus as a means of transportation to some place.

Example Sentences:

先生せんせいでも間違まちがう。[Even teachers make mistakes.]

私わたしは難むずかしい仕事しごとでもする。[I even do difficult jobs.]

ここからでも富士山ふじさんが見みえる。[You can see Mt. Fuji even from here.]

子供こどもでもそんなことはわかりますよ。[Even children can understand that.]

お会あいしたいんですが、日曜日にちようびでもかまいませんか。[I want to meet with you, but is it all right even on Sunday?]

あの人ひとは魚さかなでも肉にくでも食たべます。[He can eat anything, even fish or meat.]

WILD Examples:

At 1:40, listen for this line: どんな場所ばしょでもまず釣つれる。[No matter what place it is, you’ll probably be able to catch (Koiking).] This is a usage of WH-Question word + でも.
Listen to this line at 1:22: 今いまでもあなたは私わたしの光ひかり [Even now, you are my light]

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