Expressing "even" with "shenzhi"
甚至 (shènzhì) is similar that of "even" in English. It can be used as a conjunction and an adverb.
When used as a conjunction, it is generally used towards the end of the sentence, when the speaker realizes that they maybe haven't gone far enough, and want to take the idea one step further. In English, using even in this sense seems a bit wordy, but this progression from one idea to another is used a lot in Chinese.
For example:
- 在 中国，不但 教育 水平 高 的 人 会 背诵 唐诗， 甚至 连 小 孩子 都 会
- 他 骑 自行车 骑 得 甚至 比 汽车 跑 得 还 快。
- 看 到 他 前 女友 的 照片 让 他 感到 遗憾 甚至 痛苦。
When used as an adverb, 甚至 is often used in this structure:
adj + 得 + 甚至 + verb + object
This feels a lot more like the English usage of "even".
Some examples:
- 中 国 的 网速 慢 得 让 我 甚至 想 打 人！
- 天气 热 得 我甚至 没有 胃口 了。
??热得甚至连我都吃不下饭。。。 热得连我都甚至吃不下饭 热得热得甚至我都吃不下饭
不但 (bùdàn) and 甚至 can be used to form a structure similar to 不但...而且 (bùdàn...érqiě), meaning "not only...even". 甚至 is often followed by the 连...都 (lián...dōu) structure to add further emphasis.
