Expressing "even" with "shenzhi"
Revision as of 03:22, 8 November 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs)
甚至 (shènzhì) is similar that of "even" in English.
When used as a conjunction, it is generally used to emphasize the last idea of the sentence. Sometimes this kind of sentence has the feeling that the speaker realizes half way through the sentence that they haven't gone far enough, and want to take the idea one step further.
For example:
- 看 到 前 女友 的 照片 让 他 感到 遗憾 甚至 痛苦。
- 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。
甚至 can also be used as an adverb, and is often used like this:
- 中 国 的 网速 慢 得 让 我 甚至 想 打 人！
- 天气 热 得 我甚至 都 没有 胃口 吃饭。
- 他 骑 自行车 的 速度 甚至 比 汽车 的 还 快。
- 他 是 个 探险家，他 甚至 去 过 北极
The phrase following 甚至 often uses 连, 都 or 也 to add further emphasis.
Sources and further reading
Books
- New Practical Chinese Reader 5 (新实用汉语课本5) pp.72
- Short-term Spoken Chinese: Pre-Intermediate (汉语口语速成提高篇) pp 133
