Expressing "even if…" with "napa"

哪怕 (nǎpà) means "even if", and has a slightly stronger tone than 即使 or 就算. It is therefore often used to disregard hypothetical statements of a more serious nature. It is also used in conjunction with 也.

Structure

哪怕 + hypothetical statement + 也 + action.

Examples

• 哪怕 要 花 一百万，也 要 把 你 的 病 治好。Even if it's gonna cost one million bucks for you to be cured,we are still doing it.
• 哪怕 就 陪 孩子 玩 一小会儿 ，她也 会 很 开心的。<span class="trans"It would cheer her up even if you spend only a few minutes with them.
• 哪怕 你 要 送 我 一 辆 宝马，我也 不 要 嫁 给 你！I‘m not gonna marry you even if you're gonna give me a B.M.W.
• 哪怕 你 打扮 得 像 电影 明星 一样，他也 不 会 看 你 一眼！Even if you dress up like a movie star,he wouldn't take a damn look at you!

哪怕 is often followed by 再 to give further emphasis to the severity of situation the speaker is disregarding.

Note that the clause used after 哪怕 must be hypothetical, otherwise 虽然 should be used：

• 现在 虽然 是 高峰期，但 我 无论如何 都 要 出去
• 哪怕 现在 是 高峰期，我 也要 出去

In the first sentence, it being rush hour is not a hypothetical statement, so it is incorrect to use 哪怕.

See also

• Expressing "even if…" with "jishi"
• Expressing "even if…" with "jiushi"
• Expressing "even if…" with "jiusuan"

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 5 (新实用汉语课本5) (pp. 113) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (p. 556)→buy

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