たとえ～ても

The structure たとえ～ても is used to express "even if" or "even supposing that" – indicating that the result in the main clause will not change regardless of the hypothetical condition stated. たとえ (meaning "even if" or "supposing") strengthens the concessive meaning of ～ても, emphasizing that the outcome holds true no matter what.

The speaker uses this pattern to show strong resolve, determination, or to state that a certain fact remains unchanged under any hypothetical circumstance.

Usage with verbs

Use the て-form of the verb + も after たとえ.

Usage with い-adjectives

Replace the final い with くても.

Usage with な-adjectives and nouns

Use でも after the な-adjective stem or noun.

Nuance

Compared to using ～ても alone, adding たとえ makes the hypothetical scenario feel more dramatic or emphatic. It signals that the speaker has fully considered the worst case or an extreme condition and still arrives at the same conclusion. It is commonly paired with expressions of determination such as ぜったいに絶対に, かならず必ず, or negative volitional forms like あきらめない諦めない.

たとえ can also be written in kanji as たとい仮令 or たとい縦令, but the hiragana form is overwhelmingly more common.