Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 4: 3/21

いくら～でもNo matter how (much)

Structure

いくら + Verb［ても］
いくら + ［い］Adjective［ても］
いくら + Noun + でも
いくら + ［な］Adjective + でも

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • Rare Kanji

    幾ら

About いくら〜でも

In a similar way to どんなに～ても, いくら～でも is regularly translated to 'no matter how (A), (B)'. However, unlike どんな (which is an abbreviation of どのような), いくら is a noun that comes from the kanji 幾(いく)ら, meaning 'how much'. When partnered with ても (with verbs and い-Adjectives), or でも (with nouns and な-Adjectives), the literal meaning means 'however much (A), (B)'.

With いくら～でも, the (B) part of the phrase will usually highlight something that is being negated, giving the phrase it's 'no matter how much' nuance.

Despite this trend of being used in sentences that contain ない or ありません, いくら～でも may also be seen in positive sentences. In these cases, despite not being negative, the (B) phrase will still be something that is surprising/unexpected in some way (due to its extent or amount).

Fun Fact

幾(いく)ら places more emphasis on the 'amount' of something, while どんなに places more emphasis on the 'type', or 'style'. Due to this, いくら will be a better choice when the 'volume' of something is being highlighted, while どんなに will sound more natural when the 'state' is being discussed.

  • お金(かね)はいくら払(はら)ってもいいのでその靴(くつ)を私(わたし)に下(くだ)さい。
    I will pay however much for those shoes, so please let me have them! (Amount only)
  • お金(かね)はどんなに払(はら)ってもいいのでその靴(くつ)を私(わたし)に下(くだ)さい。
    I will pay whatever sort of money for those shoes, so please let me have them! (Possible amount or type. Dollar, yen, euro, etc)

Despite this small difference, いくら and どんなに are used fairly interchangeably in most situations.

Examples

--:--

    いくら急(いそ)いでも土曜日(どようび)までには終(お)わらない。

    No matter how quickly I do it, I won't finish before Saturday.

    いくら泣(な)いても、泣(な)き止(や)まない。

    No matter how much they cry, they won't cry themselves out.

    いくらお金(かね)があっても、愛(あい)は買(か)えない。

    No matter how much money you have, you can't buy love.

    いくら頑張(がんば)っても、彼(かれ)にはかなわない。

    No matter how hard I try, I can't compete with him.

    いくら稼(かせ)いでも、妻(つま)がすぐに使(つか)ってしまうから困(こま)っている。

    I am having trouble because no matter how much I earn, my wife spends it all.

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