Chinese Grammar: Expressing “even” with “连...都 / 也.”

In Chinese, there are lots of patterns used in an associate contextual clause or a composed sentence. In fact, we’ve already learned many of them to express cause and effect, making suppositions or concessions, and more. You guys may notice that in these grammatical structures, some conjunction words always show up to link the structure and ensure the sentence functions well.

Today let’s look at how to express “even” with the conjunction words “连...都/也” in a sentence pattern.

Rules

When expressing determination in Chinese, sometimes you need to add an extra explanation to stress a certain unexpected situation or something surprising.

In that case, to describe determination, use the sentence structure 连 ... 都/也.

Structure

连 + Noun + 都/也 + Adjective/Verb/Phrase

Examples

他 特别 喜欢 学 中文 ， 连 做梦 都 在 学。
He especially likes studying Chinese, even in his dreams, he's studying Chinese.

我 太 忙 了 ， 连 奶奶的 生日 都 忘 了。
I’m so busy, I even forgot my grandma’s birthday.

他 太 累 了 ， 连 饭 也 没 时间 吃。
I'm so tired I won't even take the time to eat.

这个 这么 简单 ， 连 他 也 知道。
This is so simple, even he knows the answer.

Using it for comparison

This structure 连...都/也 can be used to compare two situations. If you add a 不如 after 都/也, you'll express that you are surprised by one of the situations or comparing to the other one. Attention here usually the part after 连 is used to emphasize in the comparison.

Structure

连 + Noun + 都/也 + 不如

Examples

这个 你 都 不 懂 ， 连 小孩 儿 都 不如。 You don’t understand this, even a kid understands it.

你 这么 大 了 还 不会 做饭 ， 连 你 妹妹 都 不如。
You are so grown up now, and you still can't cook yourself a meal, even your little sister is better at cooking than you.

你 竟然 不会 上网 ， 连 奶奶 也 不如。
You don’t know how to use the Internet, even grandma knows how.

我 对 你 说 到底 算 什么 ， 连 朋友 也 不如。
What on earth do I mean to you, you don't even treat me like a friend?

This structure can also be used to express “let alone” in other patterns. Hold on, we'll look into those more in the next lesson!