How to use 就是…也
就是 + hypothetical condition，subject + 也 + unchanged result
就是 can introduce a hypothetical concession in conversational Chinese. The speaker accepts a possibility for the sake of the argument, then maintains a decision or result anyway. This resembles 即使…也 and often conveys resolve. The particular possibility can be extreme or ordinary; its role is to show what would fail to change the conclusion.
Use 也 in the following clause to support the concessive reading. Because 就是 has several common meanings, a sentence containing those characters is not automatically an even-if statement. Check that a condition is being imagined and that the next clause holds despite it. Other uses may identify something, emphasize an assertion, or qualify an earlier remark instead.
Examples with pinyin and English
就是这台电脑价格上万，我也会买。
Even if this computer's price is over 10,000 yuan, I'm still going to buy it.
就是降温了，我也要穿热裤，时尚嘛!
Even if the temperature is dropping, I'm still going to wear hot pants. They're fire!
就是他变成一个穷光蛋，我也愿意跟他在一起。
Even if he were penniless, I would still be willing to be with him.
就是以后会失败，我也想尝试。
Even if it's going to fail, I want to give it a try.
What to remember
- Look for a hypothetical condition after 就是.
- Use 也 to mark the result that still holds.
- Distinguish this pattern from other meanings of 就是.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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