Particle: でも and だって

でも as a particle is often westernised and associated with "but...", "even..." or "even if...", however, the main feature of でも is that it expresses a broad range of possibilities, alternatives, choices or options, even if they are not explicitly stated. In many cases, you may replace でも with the more informal and casual form だって except for a few exceptions.

Using でも After Nouns for Emphasis

The most basic use of でも is to place emphasis on a noun to say something similar to "even", to express that there are more related nouns but not stated, for example:

In the first example above, it is emphasised that "Yuta" isn't the only person who understands Japanese. The use of でも simply emphasises that Yuta is just one person among two or more other people.

In the second example, Yuta understands other languages besides just being able to understand Japanese. Yuta may also understand English, Korean and Chinese but it is Japanese that is being emphasised here, as marked by でも.

As you can see, でも is used to indicate a range of other possibilities that are not explicitly stated. It may be interpreted in English as "or something", "even", "any" or "among other things". Let's consider this in the next example:

Here, the speaker is emphasising that there were other situations that we were held responsible for but this is the one particular situation that is being singled out and referred to.

でも may also be placed between two sentences to form a subordinating conjunction, for example:

1. 勉強が嫌いでも学校に行くべき

   benkyou ga kirai demo gakkou ni iku beki

   Even if you don't like studying, you must still go to school

2. 不親切でも本当に頭のいい人なんです

   fushinsetsu demo hontou ni atama no ii hito na ndesu

   Although she's not kind, she's a really smart person

Again, the first part of these sentences just emphasises one thing among other things but this time says something else about it. i.e: You may not like studying, you may not like being around other students, you may not like a particular subject or even your teachers, you may want to stay home playing videogames, not matter the reason, you must still go to school.

Using でも with Question Words

Question words, just like many other particles, can be used with でも to imply a positive emphasis: "any~" (anyone, anywhere, anytime, anything and so on).

1. オレっちたちはともだち！
   いつでも呼び出して欲しい！

   orecchi~tachi wa tomodachi! itsu demo yobidashite hoshii!

   We're friends! I want you to call me anytime!

2. ううん、なんでもない。
   ありがとう！キミはゆっくり休んでて！

   uun, nan' demo nai. arigatou! kimi wa yukkuri yasundete!

   No, it's not anything. Thanks! You get some rest!

3. 宇宙のニュースはいつだって
   わしをわくわくさせてくれる！

   uchiyuu no nyu-su wa itsu datte washi o wakuwaku sasete kureru!

   News about the universe always excites me.

※ Example sentences (1) and (2) were taken from the game 妖怪ウォッチ (Youkai Watch).

※ Example sentence (3) was taken from ポケットモンスター Let's Go! (Pokemon Let's Go!)

Question Words: も vs でも

It's possible you may be wondering what the difference is between 何も (nani mo) and 何でも (nan' demo), both referring to "anything"; the same goes for 誰も (dare mo) and 誰でも (dare demo), both referring to "anyone". This may seem confusing at first but is actually rather simple.

Generally, the easiest way to know which one should be used is to remember that も is used in negative sentences when referring to "any~" and でも is used in positive sentences.

なんでもない (nan'demo nai) from the previous section means "It's not anything" but is used in a way that implies a positive emphasis. You may hear this reply being said when asking someone if they are okay or what's happened and they don't want to make you feel worried.

何も (nani mo) "not anything" and 誰も (dare mo) "not anyone" are both negatives ("not") and for that reason cannot be considered without using some kind of negative verb such as ない or しない. You cannot use 何も to mean "anything" or "everything" nor can you use 誰も to mean "anyone" or "everyone".

Remember that も is used to marks something that is part of a set that belongs together while でも expresses a wide range of other options, possibilities, things and such.

To better explain this, let's compare the differences:

何も vs 何でも

何も (nani mo) indicates the absence or lack of something, while 何でも (nan' demo) suggests a broad range of choices or options.

• 何も (nani mo) is a phrase that means "(not) anything"; it is used to express the absence or lack of something. For example: 何もない (nani mo nai) meaning "there is not anything" / "there is nothing".

• 何でも (nan' demo) is a phrase that means "anything"; it is used to indicate a wide range of options or possibilities. For example: 何でもいい (nan' demo ii) meaning "anything is good".

誰も vs 誰でも

誰も (dare mo) indicates the absence or lack of people, while 誰でも (dare demo) suggests a broad range of individuals or the inclusivity of anyone.

• 誰も (dare mo) is a phrase that means "(not) anybody"; it is used to express the absence or lack of people. For example: 誰もいない (dare mo inai) meaning "there's not anybody" / "there's nobody".

• 誰でも (dare demo) is a phrase that means "anybody" or "anyone"; it is used to indicate a wide range of people or individuals. For example: 誰でも参加できます (dare demo sanka dekimasu) meaning "anybody can participate" or "anyone is able to join".

Indicating a Possibility

Marking something with でも indicates one possibility, similar to saying "... or something". This fits well with what was mentioned before about suggesting a range of other possibilities or alternatives. When used in this way, you would not replace でも with だって.

1. 家に帰ってゲームでもしたいよ・・・。

   ie ni kaette ge-mu demo shitai yo...

   I just want to go home and play games or something...

2. 悪い物でも食べた?

   warui mono demo tabeta?

   Have you ate a bad thing or something?

Sentence (1) indicates one possible thing that I may do when I get home (to play games); being marked by でも suggests that there are other things that I may do instead of just playing games such as sleeping, reading, cooking and so on.

In sentence (2), でも emphasises a possibility of eating something bad; the speaker is assuming one possible cause for the listener not feeling very well but causes other than just "eating something bad" are still questioned. We could interpret this in English as "Did you eat something bad?" but this gives the impression that "eating something bad" is the only reason, instead of asking for other reasons.

Remember to avoid trying to convert Japanese particles as English words, for example, でも in our usage here suggests "... or something" but this is just one of many possible interpretations. Let's look at another sentence to see a different interpretation:

3. わざマシンはタマムシデパートでも買えるよ！

   waza mashin wa tamamushi depa-to demo kaeru yo!

   As for TM machines, you can buy them at the Tamamushi Department Store!

This sentence informs the listener that they can buy TM machines at the Tamamushi Department Store and with the use of でも to mark タマムシデパート, the speaker emphasises that the store mentioned is just one of many possible locations where TM machines are sold.

It's not quite that easy to express this sentence in English and there are many ways we can interpret it: "you can buy them even at the Tamamushi Department Store", "you can also buy them at Tamamushi Department Store" or "you can buy them at the Tamamushi Department Store or any other shop".

※ Example sentences (1) and (2) were taken from the game 妖怪ウォッチ (Youkai Watch).

※ Example sentence (3) was taken from ポケットモンスター Let's Go! (Pokemon Let's Go!)

Using でも in a List

As part of a set, でも is very similar to how the も particle is used, except, でも lists two or more things as options from a larger list of things; this is similar to saying "either... or (any other)". Again, we are indicating a broad range of possibilities, where there is more but not stated.

Here is an example sentence taken from the Nintendo Switch game どうぶつの森 (Animal Crossing):

This sentence conveys the message that the player is free to choose their preferred location for setting up their tent, whether it's 森の中 (in the forest) or 浜辺 (on the beach), these are just two possibilities among other spots the player can set up their tent; for that reason, we added "any other location" in the English interpretation where it is not actually stated.

Replacing でも with だってcasual

The use of でも is quite formal so you may commonly see だって used instead which is a contraction of the copula だ and って the casual form of the と particle; this would mean something similar to "it is said..." which can be interpreted as "even", "even if", "it is because" and so on, just like using でも.

Either the formal でも or casual だって can be used with what we have learnt in this lesson so far except for when expressing "... or something" as it sounds unnatural and uncommon.

Depending on where in the sentence でも or だって is used, it's meaning will only change slightly based on it's context. Regardless of whichever is used, でも or だって, should have very little affect on the overall meaning being expressed.

Replacing でも with the casual だって after a noun has the nuance of emphasising the thing it marks, in order to further explain it.

でも at the beginning of a sentence is usually interpreted as "however" and presents a contrast or exception to a previous statement. In the example below, it emphasise that despite what was mentioned before, the player's adventure is still far from being over.

だって at the beginning of a sentence is usually interpreted as "because" since it's providing a reason or explanation for a previous statement. Remember that the copula だ is used when declaring something or directly stating "it is" as a matter of fact.

Do note that the usage of だって as a conjunction (such as "but") at the beginning of a sentence is used more by children and may come across as being cute or childish.

だって at the end of a sentence is not to be confused with the casual form of でも but is actually んだって without the explanatory tone of ん. The purpose of this is to express the speakers unexpectedness, surprise or criticism towards a statement being quoted. We'll cover this more in the next lesson.

Additional Notes

Related Lessons and References

Here is a list of other pages as a reference of what else you may be interested in reading: