-더라도
even if, no matter how
A stronger form of “even if” than -아/어도. It reaches for the extreme case — suppose the worst happened, the result still holds.
Build it
Pick a verb
When to use it
Attach -더라도 to any stem — no vowel rule, ㄹ stays. Tense can appear in front: 갔더라도.
The situation it introduces is hypothetical and usually extreme: 아무리 힘들더라도 포기하지 마세요. It pairs naturally with 아무리, which means “however much.”
Against -아/어도, the difference is how real the situation is. -아/어도 works for actual facts as well as suppositions; -더라도 leans firmly toward the imagined. For something already true, -아/어도 or -지만 reads more naturally.
Commands and suggestions may follow, which is why it turns up so often in encouragement and warnings.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any verb or adjective | -더라도 | 힘들다 → 힘들더라도 |
| ㄹ stems keep the ㄹ | -더라도 | 만들다 → 만들더라도 |
| Past supposition | -았/었더라도 | 갔더라도 |
| 이다 | -(이)더라도 | 학생이더라도 |
| Common partner | 아무리 | 아무리 힘들더라도 |
| Actual facts take | -아/어도, -지만 | 힘들어도 계속해요 |
In use
아무리 힘들더라도 포기하지 마세요.
However hard it gets, don’t give up.
시간이 없더라도 아침은 꼭 드세요.
Even if you’re short on time, please do eat breakfast.
비가 오더라도 행사는 예정대로 진행됩니다.
Even if it rains, the event will go ahead as planned.
그때 알았더라도 막을 수 없었을 거예요.
Even if I’d known then, I couldn’t have stopped it.
직접 만들더라도 시간이 오래 걸릴 거예요.
Even if you make it yourself, it’ll take a long time.
학생이더라도 규칙은 지켜야 합니다.
Even as a student, you have to follow the rules.
Compared with
-아/어도
-아/어도 handles both real and imagined situations; -더라도 is for the hypothetical, and often the extreme one. If the first clause is simply true, -아/어도 fits better.
비가 와도 갈 거예요. (it is raining) / 비가 오더라도 갈 거예요. (should it rain)
-지만
-지만 accepts a fact and moves on; -더라도 supposes something that has not happened. They are not interchangeable.
힘들지만 계속해요. (it is hard) / 힘들더라도 계속하세요. (however hard it may get)
-(으)ㄹ지라도
An even more formal and literary version of the same idea, common in writing and speeches.
힘들더라도 (speech) / 힘들지라도 (writing)
Watch out
오늘 비가 오더라도 우산을 안 가져왔어요.
오늘 비가 오지만 우산을 안 가져왔어요.
-더라도 supposes something. If the rain is already falling, the sentence needs -지만 or -는데.
아무리 힘들었더라도 지금은 괜찮아요. — about a real past
아무리 힘들었지만 지금은 괜찮아요.
-았/었더라도 supposes a past that may not have happened. For something that genuinely did, use -지만.
학생더라도 규칙은 지켜야 합니다.
학생이더라도 규칙은 지켜야 합니다.
A noun needs the copula 이다 first, as with -기도 하다 and -거든요.
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