たって

JLPT N3approx.Casual
Meaning
  1. 1Even if or even though; the condition does not change the outcome stated in the main clause.Ex. 1
  2. 2Combined with a question word, it means 'no matter what/who/how', covering every possibility.Ex. 2
Formation
Verb (ta-form)+って降ったって, 言われたって
動詞 ない形→なくたって行かなくたって
い形容詞 stem+くたって高くたって
な形容詞 stemNoun+だって静かだって, 子供だって

Voicing: verbs whose た形 ends in だ take だって(飲んだって, 泳いだって)

Question wordsQuestion word+…+たって何を言われたって
Examples
雨あめが降ふったって、試合しあいは中止ちゅうししないよ。
Even if it rains, we're not calling off the game.
親おやに何なんを言いわれたって、俺おれは自分じぶんの道みちを歩あるく。
No matter what my parents say to me, I'm going to walk my own path.
Usage

A colloquial equivalent of ても, common in everyday conversation and informal writing such as messages or manga dialogue. It often sounds emphatic or emotional, stressing that the speaker's stance or the outcome will not change. It can appear with です/ます endings when the relationship allows casual phrasing, but formal speech and writing use ても.

Watch out

Do not use たって in formal writing or business settings; ても is the safe choice where casual phrasing would be out of place.

Learners often forget the い-adjective form: say 高くたって, not 高いたって.

Note that verbs whose た形 ends in だ take だって, as in 飲んだって and 泳いだって.

Easily confused with
  • てもN4「ても」 means basically the same as 「たって」 and can also pair with question words and 「いくら」, but it is neutral in register, fine in writing, and plainer in tone. It attaches to the て-form, with nouns and な-adjectives taking 「でも」.
  • としてもN2「としても」 is neutral in register and stresses a tentative "let's suppose"; nouns and な-adjectives take 「だ」, though nouns can sometimes drop it. When it means "even if," it can be swapped with 「たって」, which is more colloquial and more emotional.
  • にしてもN2「にしても」 is close to 「たって」 in its concessive meaning but is neutral in register and also works in writing; the second clause is usually an evaluation or a complaint. It also has a paired 「AにしてもBにしても」 pattern and attaches to the plain form, with nouns attaching directly.
  • としたって / としたところでN1「としたって」/「としたところで」 attach to the plain form (nouns and な-adjectives add 「だ」) and express a hypothetical concession, with the second clause usually negative or saying it would make no difference; they can also follow a noun for a person to express that person's standpoint. 「たって」 has no such restriction on the second clause.
  • にしたってN1「にしたって」 is also a colloquial concessive, attaching to the plain form or a noun (「忙しいにしたって」), with the added nuance of first accepting or supposing the first part before commenting; after a noun for a person, it means "even that person." For concession, it can mostly be used in place of 「たって」.
  • とてN1「とて」 also means "even if," but it sounds old-fashioned and belongs to written language; nouns attach directly (「親とて」), and after verbs and adjectives the second clause usually describes a negative result. In everyday conversation, 「たって」 sounds more natural.

たって is the casual counterpart of ても, while としても ('even supposing') and にしても ('even granting / even for') frame the condition as a supposition or concession, and にしたって is the colloquial form of にしても. としたって is likewise the colloquial form of としても, but としたところで adds that even if the supposition held, it would not help or change the outcome; とて is a literary 'even'.

Grammar · JLPT grammar levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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