哪怕…也…
even if; even though
Structure
哪怕 极端的条件 ， 主语 也 结果
What it means
“Even if”: pushes the condition to an extreme and says the result holds anyway. More spoken and emphatic than 即使.
How it is built
哪怕 + extreme condition，subject + 也／都 + result: 哪怕只放一天假，他也要回家看看父母 (even with only one day off, he goes home to see his parents).
When to use it
Typical with 再 or tiny amounts: 哪怕再忙, 哪怕再贵, 哪怕一分钟. The condition is usually hypothetical or extreme; for a plain fact use 虽然…但是….
Watch out
也 and 都 are adverbs, so they follow the subject: ✗ 哪怕下雨，也我们去。 ✓ 哪怕下雨，我们也去。
Examples
哪怕只放一天假，他也要回家看看父母。
Even if he gets only one day off, he still goes home to see his parents.
哪怕下雨，比赛也照常进行。
Even if it rains, the match will go ahead as usual.
哪怕人再多，一年里也只有这几天能出远门。
However big the crowds, these are the only days in the year when they can travel far.
Learn this in Lesson 19 · HSK 5: 放假与调休 (Public holidays and swapped weekends)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →