Skip to content

即使

jí shǐ
HSK 2.0 Level 4 HSK 3.0 Level 4 Conjunction Very common

Definitions

  1. 1. even if; even though

Stop forgetting what you study. Build recall daily.

Try HanyuGuide's Chinese review system with multiple choice, typed recall, tone-aware practice, and reviews scheduled before memory fades.

Get Yearly · $49.99 / year

Sign up with Google
Continue with Email

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Try a practice session

Word relationships

Register variants

1 item
就算
jiù suàn

(coll.) even if

more colloquial way to say 'even if'

Related words

1 item
哪怕
nǎ pà

even

emphatic 'even if', often in hypothetical extremes

Synonyms

1 item
即便
jí biàn

even if

also means 'even if', often interchangeable in written Chinese

Usage notes

Collocations

Commonly paired with 也 or 还 in the main clause: 即使…也… (even if... still...). Example: 即使下雨，我们也去。

Common mistakes

即使 is followed by a hypothetical condition, not a factual situation. Avoid using it where 'although' would fit, e.g., *即使他很忙，他帮助我 is incorrect if he is indeed busy.

Grammar

Guides that feature 即使

Jump into a full guide with fill-in-the-blank drills. Clicking will load the page and move you to the top.

4 guides
HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min
假若/假使……，…… for a Formal “If” or “Suppose”

Make a supposition in formal Chinese with 假若 or 假使, the written relatives of 如果: 假若明天下雨，运动会就改到下周举行.

Reading: jí shǐ Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 4+ HSK 3.0 Level 4+ 6 min
即使...也... and 就是...也... for “Even If”

Use 即使 or 就是 to imagine a difficult case, then 也 to say the result still holds.

Reading: jí shǐ Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 6+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min
纵然/纵使……，也…… for a Formal “Even If”

Say “even if … still …” in formal Chinese with 纵然 or 纵使, as in 纵然困难再多，我们也要把这项工作完成.

Reading: jí shǐ Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 4+ HSK 3.0 Level 4+ 6 min
Condition Chains

Build longer conditional sentences without losing the relationship.

Reading: jí shǐ Open guide

Example Sentences

2 shown
即使 下雨，我们也去。
Even if it rains, we will still go.
即使 我們是人。
Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 769798)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 即使

使
shǐ

to make

即
jí

namely