How to use 甚至
甚至
甚至 adds a case that goes further than the listener might expect. It may highlight a surprising member of a group or introduce a stronger statement after an initial observation. The effect resembles “even”: the new information sits toward an extreme on the scale established by the conversation. The scale can involve difficulty, likelihood, degree, or social expectations.
When 甚至 introduces a noun phrase, 都 or 也 often appears before the predicate to reinforce its inclusion. It can also connect clauses, where the later clause extends the earlier point. Choose a meaningful progression rather than inserting 甚至 between unrelated facts. The listener needs to understand why the additional case is especially striking.
Examples with pinyin and English
每个观众甚至裁判都站起来给他鼓掌。
Each and every member of the audience, and even the referee, stood up and applauded for him.
我去过很多中国的城市，北京、上海、杭州、昆明、桂林， 甚至拉萨我也去过。
I've been to many cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guilin. I even went to Lhasa once.
我的朋友都不喜欢我的决定， 甚至我的家人也不支持。
None of my friends like my decision, and even my family doesn't support it.
他很喜欢玩手机，吃饭的时候，坐地铁的时候， 甚至上厕所的时候也在玩。
He likes playing on his cell phone when he's eating, taking the metro, even when he goes to the bathroom.
What to remember
- The added case should be notably more extreme.
- 都 or 也 often supports a focused noun phrase.
- 甚至 can connect whole clauses.
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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.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.