即使……还是……
Reach for this when you want to say a result holds even if some condition were true — 'even if X, Y still happens.' The 即使 clause names a hypothetical or extreme scenario; the 还是 clause insists the outcome doesn't change. Conversational and common, this is the everyday concession pattern: useful in argument, planning, and explanation. Note that 即使 covers hypotheticals, while 虽然 covers actual facts.
Structure
即使 [HYPOTHETICAL CONDITION], [SUBJECT] 还是 [UNCHANGED RESULT]
jíshǐ... háishi...
How to Think About It
即使 opens a 'what if' door; 还是 slams it shut by saying the outcome is the same anyway. The condition is offered as a counter-argument, not as a real fact — the speaker is preemptively defeating an objection. If the condition has actually happened, switch to 虽然.
Examples
即使下大雨，我们还是要去爬山。
Jíshǐ xià dà yǔ, wǒmen háishi yào qù páshān.
Even if it pours, we're still going to hike.
即使他不来，我们还是会按时开始。
Jíshǐ tā bù lái, wǒmen háishi huì ànshí kāishǐ.
Even if he doesn't come, we'll still start on time.
即使工作很忙，她还是每天给妈妈打电话。
Jíshǐ gōngzuò hěn máng, tā háishi měitiān gěi māma dǎ diànhuà.
Even if work is busy, she still calls her mom every day.
Common Mistake
Learners mix up 即使 with 虽然. 虽然 reports a real fact ('although it's raining'); 即使 raises a hypothetical ('even if it rained'). Using 即使 for something already true sounds odd, like the speaker is denying reality.
即使今天下雨了，我还是出门了。
虽然今天下雨了，我还是出门了。
Don't Confuse With
虽然……但是……
虽然 concedes a real fact. 即使 supposes a hypothetical condition. If it actually happened, use 虽然.
即便……依然……
Same meaning, more formal register. Use 即便……依然…… in writing; 即使……还是…… in speech.
就算……也……
Very close to 即使, but 就算 is even more colloquial and slightly more dismissive ('even if, big deal'). Interchangeable in most conversations.
Practice
Fill in the blank: ____ 他不同意，我还是要这么做。
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即使
Fill in the blank: 即使天气很冷，他 ____ 要出去跑步。
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还是
Arrange into a sentence: 即使 / 还是 / 我 / 喜欢 / 很贵 / 它
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即使很贵，我还是喜欢它。
Translate to Chinese: Even if you don't help me, I'll still finish this on my own.
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即使你不帮我，我还是会自己完成。
Write a sentence using 即使……还是…… about something you'd do no matter the obstacle.
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即使没人陪我，我还是想去那个国家旅行。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: