N3 Hypotheticals, Conditionals, and Regret

どんなに〜ても/いくら〜ても: meaning, usage and examples

どんなに〜ても/いくら〜ても means: no matter how much... / however...

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. どんなに勉強べんきょうしても、テストで100点てんを取とれない。

   No matter how hard I study, I can't get a perfect score on the test.

2. いくら電話でんわしても、彼かれが出でない。

   No matter how many times I call, he doesn't answer.

3. どんなに忙いそがしくても、朝あさご飯はんは食たべます。

   No matter how busy I am, I always eat breakfast.

4. いくら説明せつめいしても、父ちちは分わかってくれません。

   No matter how much I explain, my father doesn't understand.

When to use it

どんなに〜ても and いくら〜ても mean "no matter how (much)": the result stays the same however far the action or quality goes. いくら食たべても太ふとらない means "No matter how much I eat, I don't gain weight." The result is often negative or disappointing, but it can be positive too.

Nuance

Both are common in speech and writing. いくら focuses on amount or repetition (いくら呼よんでも); どんなに focuses on degree or effort (どんなに大変たいへんでも). In casual speech, いくら〜たって is also common.

Compare

たとえ〜ても imagines one extreme case: たとえ失敗しっぱいしても. どんなに and いくら talk about degree. ても alone has no "how much" sense. Do not confuse this いくら with いくら meaning "how much does it cost."

Tip: どんなに pairs well with adjectives (どんなに忙いそがしくても); いくら pairs well with repeated actions (いくら言いっても). Both need ても or でも later in the sentence.