You already know the plain concessive 〜ても "even if": 食べても (tabete mo, "even if I eat"). Drop a question word into that same clause and the meaning leaps from a single hypothetical to a sweeping universal: 何を食べても — "no matter what I eat." This one move covers the entire English family of "no matter wh-" and "wh-ever" expressions, and it is one of the highest-value patterns at the N3 level.
The pattern in one line
Put a question word into a clause and end that clause with a verb or adjective in the te-form + も:
[question word] … [te-form] + も = "no matter [wh-] …" / "[wh-]ever …"
The question word marks the slot that is being made universal, and the ても does the rest. Whichever slot the question word fills — subject, object, place, or degree — the sentence sweeps across that slot's entire range.
The object slot: 何を〜ても
When the universal thing is the object, use 何を (nani o) — and keep the object particle を, exactly as the underlying verb demands. The question word simply stands in for the object noun; it does not change the particle.
何を食べても太らないなんて、本当にうらやましい。
nani o tabete mo futoranai nante, hontō ni urayamashii
It's honestly enviable that you don't gain weight no matter what you eat.
彼女は何を着ても似合う。
kanojo wa nani o kite mo niau
Whatever she wears looks good on her.
The subject slot: 誰が〜ても
When the universal thing is the subject, use 誰が (dare ga, "whoever") and keep the subject particle が.
誰が来ても、笑顔で迎えるのがこの店の自慢だ。
dare ga kite mo, egao de mukaeru no ga kono mise no jiman da
Whoever walks in, we greet them with a smile — that's this shop's pride.
誰が何と言っても、私はこの道を選ぶ。
dare ga nan to itte mo, watashi wa kono michi o erabu
No matter who says what, I'm choosing this path.
The place slot: どこへ〜ても, どこで〜ても
For place, use どこへ／どこで／どこを with the particle the verb wants.
どこへ行っても、日本のコンビニは本当に便利だ。
doko e itte mo, nihon no konbini wa hontō ni benri da
No matter where you go, convenience stores in Japan are incredibly handy.
どこを探しても、あの日の写真だけが見つからない。
doko o sagashite mo, ano hi no shashin dake ga mitsukaranai
No matter where I look, that one day's photo is the only thing I can't find.
The degree slot: いくら〜ても, どんなに〜ても, 何度〜ても
This is the sub-pattern that trips up English speakers most, and the one worth drilling hardest. To say "no matter how much / however …," Japanese does not use a plain intensifier like とても or たくさん. It uses a dedicated degree word that pairs specifically with ても:
- いくら〜ても — "no matter how much / however much" (effort, amount, thinking, paying)
- どんなに〜ても — "no matter how / however" (usually with adjectives: however expensive, however hard)
- 何度（なんど）〜ても — "no matter how many times"
いくら考えても、あの人の気持ちが分からない。
ikura kangaete mo, ano hito no kimochi ga wakaranai
No matter how much I think about it, I can't figure out how they feel.
どんなに高くても、この時計だけは一生ものだから買う。
donna ni takakute mo, kono tokei dake wa isshō mono da kara kau
However expensive it is, I'm buying this watch — it'll last a lifetime.
何度電話しても、彼は一度も出てくれなかった。
nando denwa shite mo, kare wa ichido mo dete kurenakatta
No matter how many times I called, he never once picked up.
Notice the adjective in 高くても: an i-adjective joins ても through its own te-form, 高い → 高くて → 高くても. This holds for every i-adjective (安くても, 難しくても, 忙しくても). A na-adjective or noun uses でも instead: 静かでも ("no matter how quiet"), 学生でも ("even as a student").
"Whenever / whoever it is, it's fine"
The pattern often ends in a permissive phrase — 〜てもいい ("it's fine even if"). Combined with a question word, this is the everyday way to say "any time / anyone is fine."
いつ来てもいいけど、事前に連絡だけしてね。
itsu kite mo ii kedo, jizen ni renraku dake shite ne
Come whenever you like, just message me ahead of time.
どんなに疲れていても、寝る前の日記だけは欠かさない。
donna ni tsukarete ite mo, neru mae no nikki dake wa kakasanai
No matter how tired I am, I never skip my diary before bed.
Don't confuse it with 〜でも "any-"
There is a look-alike pattern built on the noun + でも series — 何でも (anything), 誰でも (anyone), どこでも (anywhere), いつでも (anytime). This expresses free choice ("any at all"), and it attaches straight to the question word, with no verb in between. Compare:
- 何でも食べる — "I'll eat anything" (free choice; the dog is not picky)
- 何を食べても太らない — "no matter what I eat, I don't gain weight" (a full concessive clause)
うちの犬は何でも食べる。
uchi no inu wa nan demo taberu
Our dog eats anything.
The 〜でも "any-" series is covered under も for emphasis. The pattern on this page is different: a full clause with a verb or adjective in the te-form, giving "no matter …."
Common mistakes
❌ 食べても太らない。
tabete mo futoranai
Incorrect for 'no matter what' — with no question word this only means 'even if I eat, I don't gain weight,' a single hypothetical.
✅ 何を食べても太らない。
nani o tabete mo futoranai
No matter what I eat, I don't gain weight.
Dropping the question word is the single most common error. Without it you lose the universal sweep entirely, and the sentence collapses back to a plain "even if."
❌ 何が食べても平気だ。
nani ga tabete mo heiki da
Incorrect — 食べる takes を for its object, so the object question word must stay 何を, not 何が.
✅ 何を食べても平気だ。
nani o tabete mo heiki da
I'm fine no matter what I eat.
The question word inherits whatever particle the verb would give the real noun. Object of 食べる → を, so 何を. Subject of 来る → が, so 誰が. Never default everything to が.
❌ とても考えても、答えが出ない。
totemo kangaete mo, kotae ga denai
Incorrect — a plain intensifier can't express 'to whatever degree'; the fixed partner of ても here is いくら.
✅ いくら考えても、答えが出ない。
ikura kangaete mo, kotae ga denai
No matter how much I think, no answer comes.
❌ どんなに高いでも買う。
donna ni takai demo kau
Incorrect — an i-adjective joins ても through its te-form (高くて), giving 高くても, not 高いでも.
✅ どんなに高くても買う。
donna ni takakute mo kau
However expensive it is, I'll buy it.
❌ 誰でも来ても、私は驚かない。
dare demo kite mo, watashi wa odorokanai
Incorrect — this jams the でも 'anyone' series into a 〜ても clause; use the plain subject question word 誰が.
✅ 誰が来ても、私は驚かない。
dare ga kite mo, watashi wa odorokanai
Whoever comes, I won't be surprised.
Key takeaways
- Question word + [te-form] + も = "no matter [wh-] …." The question word marks the slot being made universal.
- Keep the verb's own particle on the question word: object 何を, subject 誰が, place どこへ／どこで.
- For degree, use the fixed collocations いくら〜ても and どんなに〜ても — a plain adverb won't work.
- i-adjectives join via the te-form (高くても); na-adjectives and nouns use でも (静かでも, 学生でも).
- Don't confuse this full-clause concessive with the noun + でも "any-" series (何でも "anything"), covered under も for emphasis.
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Start learning Japanese→Related Topics
- 〜ても: Even If / Even ThoughN3 — How te-form + も builds the concessive 'even if / even though' — the Y clause holds despite X — spanning hypothetical and factual cases, extending to adjectives and nouns, and underlying the permission pattern 〜てもいい.
- Question Words: An OverviewN5 — A tour of the Japanese interrogatives (疑問詞) — what, who, where, when, how, which, and why — and the crucial fact that, unlike English, they stay put in the sentence.
- も: Emphasis — 'Even', 'As Many As'N4 — How も after a quantity means 'as much/many as' (a surprised 'that's a lot'), how minimal-quantity も plus a negative means 'not even one', and how 何も/誰も build 'nothing/nobody'.
- Cause & Reason with 〜てN4 — How the て-form expresses a soft 'because' for feelings, abilities, and spontaneous results — and why its result clause can never be a command, request, or intention.