Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 10: 20/20

たって

Even if, Even though, No matter how

Structure

Verb[た]+ って
Verb[なく + たって
[い]Adjective[く]+ たって
[い]Adjective[なく] + たって
[な]Adjective + だって
[な]Adjective + じゃなくたって
Noun + だって
Noun + じゃなくたって

Details

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    Casual

  • 使用域

    タメ語

About たって

たって is a casual structure that carries the same meaning as 'ても' or 'でも', and can be used with a wide variety of words. Common translations include 'even if (A)', 'even though (A)', or 'no matter how (A)'.
In the case of verbs, たって conjugates in the standard way that the た past-tense form usually would.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)(あやま)たってどうせ(うる)してくれないだろう。
    Even if I apologized to her, she wouldn't forgive me anyway.
  • 先生(せんせい)()たって(なに)(おし)えてくれないからインターネットで調(しら)べる。
    Even if I ask the teacher, they won't tell me anything, so I am going to look it up on the internet.
For い-Adjectives, たって attaches to the conjugative く-form.
  • どんなに()しくたって万引(まんび)きをしてはいけない。
    No matter how much you want something, you must not shoplift.
  • 稽古(けいこ)がどんなに(たの)しくなくたって稽古中(けいこちゅう)には欠伸(あくび)をしてはならない。
    No matter how boring the lesson might be, you must not yawn during a lesson.
For nouns and な-Adjectives, た will change to だ, and だって will then be used with the stem noun or adjective.
  • こんな簡単(かんたん)問題(もんだい)馬鹿(ばか)だってわかるよ!
    Even an idiot can figure out a simple problem like this!
  • 友達(ともだち)だって喧嘩(けんか)をすることがある。
    Even friends can get into fights.
Fun-fact - Although たって is widely considered a casual form of ても, it originally stems from たとて, which is a combination of the auxiliary verb た, and the particle とて, which itself is thought to be an old-fashioned abbreviation of と()っても. In this way, the modern abbreviation of たって still reflects the original extended nuance of たと()っても 'even if (A) is said, (B)'.

Synonyms

Examples

  • 真剣(しんけん)告白(こくはく)たって彼女(かのじょ)冗談(じょうだん)だと(おも)かもしれない。

    Even if I confess (my love) in all seriousness, she might think it is a joke.

  • ブロッコリーが健康(けんこう)によくたってもう()べたくない!

    Even if broccoli is good for your health, I still don't want to eat it.

  • どんな()したくたってこの(あか)ボタンを()してはダメ。

    No matter how much you want to press it, you must not press the red button.

  • まさか、また宿題(しゅくだい)(わす)れたの?あたしの友達(ともだち)だって、いちいち(うつ)させることができないわ。もっとしっかりしなさい!

    No way, you forgot the homework again?! Even if you are my friend, I can't let you copy it every single time! Get a grip!

  • この試合(しあい)()たって準々(じゅんじゅん)決勝(けっしょう)には(すす)めない

    Even if I win the match I won't proceed to the quarterfinals!

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たって – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • Adarain

    Adarain

    About 2 years ago

    In the sentence

    どんなにしたくたって、このあかいボタンをしてはダメ。

    how come using たい directly is okay here? Shouldn’t one have to use たがる since it’s about presumed feelings of another person? Or does the たって-construction make it okay because it itself implies some uncertainity?

  • FredKore

    FredKore

    About 2 years ago

    The たい grammar point explains how it can be used for “I” or “you”.
    たい | Japanese Grammar SRS

    [たい belongs to a group of ‘personal’ adjectives, that is used to describe the speaker’s/writer’s wishes/desires (first person) or the listener’s wishes/desires (second person)]
    [If you want to describe someone else’s wish/desire (third person) you have to use the「verb[stem]+たがる」construction or indirect speech 「verb[stem]+たいと思う」]

    If you were describing “he” or “she” or “they” or another third person, then you would use たがる.

    どんなに押したくたって、この赤いボタンを押してはダメ。
    No matter how much you want to press it, you must not press the red button.

    Also, the English sentence is using the “general” you not the “specific” you, where the speaker is not necessarily talking specifically about the listener. You could replace “you” wi...

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