〜にしても: 'Even If' / 'Even So' (Meaning + Examples)

What it means

〜にしても sets up a concession: you grant a situation — even a supposed or hypothetical one — and then state that your conclusion is unaffected. Translate it as "even if," "even granting that," or "even in the case of."

The nuance is "I'll accept that for the sake of argument — it changes nothing." Often the granted case is one the speaker is half-supposing rather than treating as a firm fact.

How to form it

にしても attaches to the plain (dictionary) form of verbs and い-adjectives, and directly to nouns and な-adjectives (no だ):

Note: with nouns and な-adjectives you do not add だ — say 冗談にしても, never 冗談だにしても.

More examples

それにしても — "even so"

At the start of a sentence, それにしても is a fixed connector meaning "even so," "nonetheless," or "that said." It accepts the previous statement and then adds a reaction that goes beyond it:

〜にしても〜にしても — "whether… or…"

Pairing two にしても clauses gives "whether A or B" — both alternatives lead to the same result:

にしても vs. ても

In plain terms, both express concession ("even if"), but they lean different ways. Plain 〜ても attaches to the て-form (行っても) and often grants something concrete or factual. 〜にしても tends to grant a supposed / hypothetical case you're putting forward for the sake of argument — "even granting that this is so." So 行っても = "even if/though I go," while 行くにしても = "even granting that I go (let's suppose so)…," frequently followed by a limiting condition.

Common mistakes

1. Confusing にしても with としても. They overlap, but としても (from 〜として) leans toward a pure hypothesis — "even if we suppose X" or "even acting as X." 〜にしても more often grants an actual or likely case and adds an evaluative reaction. When in doubt with a firm "let's just suppose," としても is safer; for "even granting this real situation," にしても fits.
2. Adding だ after a noun or な-adjective. It's 冗談にしても and 便利にしても — never 冗談だにしても.
3. Treating それにしても as two words. As a sentence opener it's one fixed phrase meaning "even so"; don't try to parse それ + にしても literally.
4. Forgetting the contrast. にしても needs a main clause that pushes back or limits the granted case (高いにしても、買う). A bare にしても clause with no twist sounds unfinished.

Quick recap

• 〜にしても = "even if / even granting that" — concede a (often supposed) case; the conclusion still holds.
• Attaches to plain forms, and nouns / な-adjectives directly (no だ).
• それにしても at sentence start = "even so / nonetheless."
• 〜にしても〜にしても = "whether… or…" (same result either way).
• vs としても: にしても grants a real/likely case with a reaction; としても leans pure hypothesis.

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