どんなに～てもNo matter how

Structure

どんな + （に） + Verb［ても］
どんな + （に） + ［い］Adjective［ても］
どんな + （に） + ［な］Adjective + でも
どんな + （に） + Noun + でも

Details

About どんなに〜ても

As explained in the そんな grammar point, the こそあど言葉（ことば） may occasionally be seen in the forms こんな, そんな, あんな, or どんな. どんな itself is an abbreviation of どのような, meaning 'in what way', or 'what kind of'. When partnered with に (creating an adverb), and ても, どんなに～ても is used to express the extent of something that is insufficient. It can be translated as 'no matter how (A), (B)'.

どんなに may be attached to any type of word, so long as that word is then followed by でも (in the case of nouns or な-Adjectives) or ても (in the case of い-Adjectives or verbs).

どんなに～ても can literally be translated as 'even if (A) is in however/whatever (way), (B)'.

Examples

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どんなに頑張(がんば)っても無理(むり)だと思(おも)う。

I think that it is impossible no matter how hard I try.

どんなに笑(わら)われても、前(まえ)に進(すす)もう。

No matter how much they laugh at us, let's keep pushing forward.

どんなに勉強(べんきょう)しても、合格(ごうかく)できないと思(おも)う。

No matter how much I study, I don't think that I can pass.

どんなに暇(ひま)でも、掃除(そうじ)するつもりはない。

No matter how bored I am, I won't even think about cleaning.

どんなに苦(くる)しくても、僕(ぼく)はぜったいにあきらめない。

I will never give up no matter how hard it is.

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- 6) whatever /whenever/whichever ~/ No matter how ~ :
  MaggieSensei
- どんなに vs. いくら + ~ても
  NihongoLearner

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- [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
  Page 172
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どんなに〜ても – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

mrnoone

English translation:
no matter how

Structure:
どんなに + Verb[ ても ]
どんなに + いAdj[ くても ]
どんなに + Noun + でも
どんなに + なAdj + でも

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ulurujamman
For the sentence どんなに勉強しても、合格できないと思う, could どれぐらい be used synonymously?

i.e. どれぐらい勉強しても、合格できないと思う
Pushindawood
@ulurujamman Hey! どのぐらい and どれぐらい are only used to express “approximately how much of (something exists)?” The question mark at the end is key as どの/どれぐらい can only be used when asking how much of something there is or how much of something was done. So, どれ/どのくらい勉強しましたか (About how much did you study?) would work, but not どれ/どのぐらい勉強しても… You might be thinking of どんだけ (which is abbreviated from どれだけ), which has approximately the same meaning as どんなに. Cheers!
simias
Couldn’t どうして be used to mean a similar thing?

For instance this example sentence:

どんなに辛くても、現実を受け入れなくちゃ。

Couldn’t it also be:

どうして辛くても、現実を受け入れなくちゃ。

Or does it just sound weird?
Fuga
Since どうして means ‘why’, it would sound as unnatural as saying ‘Even if why hard it is, you have to accept reality.’ In sentences like this, where the speaker is trying to express ‘even if (A) is in however/whatever (way), (B)’, どんな works better since it has the meaning of ‘in what way’ or ‘what kind of’.

I hope this clears it up!
simias
That makes sense, I got confused because of どうしても, I thought “why not break the ても away?”
steffuld
Is it acceptable to use どのように instead of どんなに in this context?