〜ていたって: 'Even If You're Doing It' (Meaning + Examples)
"Even if you're doing it, it makes no difference"
〜ていたって concedes that an action is ongoing or being attempted, then insists the result stays the same regardless. It almost always pairs with a negative or dismissive conclusion.
やったんがどんなに走っていたって、始発には間に合わない。
やったんが どんなに はしっていたって、しはつには まにあわない。
No matter how much Yattan is running, he won't make the first train.
ていたって concedes the ongoing effort (走っている) before dismissing it as useless.
毎日勉強していたって、寝てばかりじゃ意味がない。
まいにち べんきょう していたって、ねてばかりじゃ いみが ない。
Even if you're studying every day, there's no point if all you do is sleep.
もちがいくら謝っていたって、もう許す気にはなれない。
もちが いくら あやまっていたって、もう ゆるす きには なれない。
Even if Mochi keeps apologizing, I just can't bring myself to forgive him anymore.
いくら…ていたって is a common combo: 'no matter how much...'
Form: Verb-ている → ていたって
〜たって replaces 〜ても directly on the て-form; on ている it lands after いる, giving ていたって.
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (ている) | Vていたって | 泣いていたって（even if crying） |
| Verb (ている) | Vていたって | 頑張っていたって（even if trying hard） |
| い-adjective | 〜くたって | 高くたって（even if expensive） |
給料が安くたって、この仕事が好きだから続ける。
きゅうりょうが やすくたって、この しごとが すきだから つづける。
Even if the pay is low, I like this job, so I'll keep at it.
Adjacent pattern: い-adjective + くたって follows the same 'even if' logic.
Casual cousin of 〜ていても
〜ていたって and 〜ていても mean the same thing, but register differs sharply. ていても is neutral and fits writing or polite speech; ていたって is distinctly spoken, often carrying a slightly blunt or exasperated edge. Swapping ていたって into a formal report reads as jarring, just as ていても in casual chat sounds stiff.
The short version
- 〜ていたって = "even if/though you're doing …, it doesn't matter."
- Attaches to: the ている form of a verb (たって replaces ても); い-adjectives take 〜くたって.
- Nuance/register: casual, spoken; often paired with いくら/どんなに for "no matter how much."
- Don't confuse with: 〜ていても, the neutral/written equivalent with the same meaning but calmer tone.
Practice it
Choose ていたって when a casual sentence dismisses an ongoing action as futile.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
いくら＿＿＿、今さら遅い。
Where 〜ていたって fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- Conditional 〜たら · N4 — 〜たら is Japanese's most flexible conditional: just add ら to the plain past. Learn the formation, the 'if/when' meaning, the discovery use, and how it beats ば/と for requests.
- Past Tense · N5 — The plain past た-form means 'did.' It follows the same sound changes as the て-form (just て→た, で→だ): 食べた, 行った, 飲んだ. Learn it by verb group.
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
- 〜ても · N4 — 〜ても means 'even if' or 'even though': 雨が降っても行く. Learn the て-form base, でも after voiced verbs, the い-adj and noun patterns, and question word + ても.
More N2 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜てくれさえすれば — 〜てくれさえすれば names the one minimal thing needed for everything else to be fine — 一言謝ってくれさえすれば、許すつもりだ. Built from てくれる (a favor) + さえ (even just) + すれば (if you do), it stresses 'that alone is enough.'
- 〜ては — 〜ては attaches to the て-form and links to a following verb to describe a repeating back-and-forth cycle — 食べては寝る生活 ('a life of eating then sleeping, over and over'). It can also mark an undesirable 'if X, then Y' consequence.
- 〜からには — 〜からには means 'now that... / since...' — given a decision or situation is already true, the speaker draws a strong obligation or determined conclusion from it. Attaches after the plain form of a verb; the main clause carries duty, resolve, or advice.
- 〜のも当然だ — 〜のも当然だ attaches to a plain-form clause to mean 'it's only natural that…' or 'no wonder…'. It frames an outcome as an obvious, expected consequence of a stated cause, not a surprise.
- 〜一方で — 〜一方で adds a contrasting side to what you just said, or names a second action happening alongside the first — like 'on the other hand' or 'while also.' Attaches after a plain-form verb, adjective, or noun+である.
- 〜にもかかわらず — にもかかわらず means 'despite / in spite of,' marking a strong contrast between a circumstance and an unexpected outcome (雨にもかかわらず、試合は行われた). It's more formal and emphatic than のに.