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, 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 会 很 开心 的。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 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 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.It's more like no matter how,which,in Chinese,is 不管+多+adj.

Structure

哪怕 (subj.1)+ 再 +adj.,(subj.2)也 + verb phrase.

哪怕 + V.+再 +adj.+O.,(subj.) 也 + verb phrase.

Examples

  • 哪怕 再 忙,我 要 抽 时间 陪 孩子。Even if I‘m really busy,I still wanna spare some time with my kid.
  • 哪怕 再 累,她 不要 父母 帮忙 照顾 小孩。Even if it's really exhausting,she doesn't wanna ask her parents for help with the baby.
  • 哪怕 孩子 再 不 听话,父母 也 不能 体罚 他们。Parents can't give them physical punishment even if they really misbehave themselves.
  • 哪怕 你 问 再 多 遍,她 现在 不会 说 一 个 字。She is not gonna say a word even you are asking her again and over again.
  • 哪怕 你 说 得 再 好,我们 不 相信。We are not gonna buy it even if you can put it in a really nice way.
  • 哪怕 你 工作 再 努力,经理 不 可能 给你 加薪。The manager is not gonna give you a pay raise even if you are working really hard.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5