-아도 / -어도
-아도/어도: Even If — Concession
Even if / although — a connective that concedes a condition and still asserts what follows.
How to form it
| When | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stem vowel is ㅏ or ㅗ | -아도 | 가다 → 가도 / 좋다 → 좋아도 |
| Any other vowel / 이다 / after -으시- or -었- | -어도 | 먹다 → 먹어도 / 읽다 → 읽어도 |
| 하다 (hada) verbs | -해도 | 하다 → 해도 / 공부하다 → 공부해도 |
| Past concession | -았/었어도 | 갔어도 / 바빴어도 |
-아도 / -어도 means even if — you grant the condition, then go ahead anyway.
비가 와도 갈 거예요. Busy day, wet streets, awkward timing: the -어도 clause admits the obstacle; the second clause refuses to stop.
우리말샘 lists -아도 and -어도 as connectives of assumption or concession. Classroom English usually lands on even if.
Forms
Same vowel decision as 해요체 and -아서/어서:
| Stem | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ / ㅗ | -아도 | 가도, 와도, 좋아도 |
| Other | -어도 | 먹어도, 읽어도, 예뻐도 |
| 하다 | -해도 | 해도, 공부해도 |
| Past | -았/었어도 | 갔어도, 바빴어도 |
바빠도 연락하세요.
돈이 없어도 재미있어요.
늦었어도 괜찮아요.Even if ≠ if
| Ending | Job |
|---|---|
| -으면 -으면 | if / when |
| -아도 / -어도 | even if |
비가 오면 취소해요. If it rains, we cancel.
비가 와도 진행해요. Even if it rains, we go ahead.The second half after -어도 is typically still / anyway — not a simple dependent result of a hopeful if.
Not permission -어도 되다
Learners who only know -어도 되다 glue 되다 onto every -어도.
| Form | Job |
|---|---|
| -아/어도 | even if (needs a second clause) |
| -아/어도 되다 | may / it’s okay to |
들어가도 돼요? May I come in?
들어가도 아무도 없어요. Even if you go in, nobody’s there.Permission ends with 되다. Concession continues into a real predicate.
Beside -지만
-지만 cuts a plain contrast: X, but Y. -어도 often packages even conceding X, Y.
비싸지만 샀어요. It’s expensive, but I bought it.
비싸도 살 거예요. Even if it’s expensive, I’ll buy it.Both can translate with but/although; -어도 keeps the even if feel louder.
Memory / meeting talk
This Sejong unit sits with chance meetings and memories — lines where something happens anyway:
바빠도 만났어요.
시간이 없어도 기억에 남아요.Ask: am I granting an obstacle and continuing? If yes, -어도. If you only need if/when, stay with -으면. If you need may I?, add 되다.
Do not confuse it with
Taught alongside this
On the jabi learning path, this appears in 어제 친구를 우연히 기차역에서 만났어요 (Yesterday, I met a friend at the train station.) — Intermediate Korean 1, Unit 2, on the theme of encounters and memories. These come with it:
Words used above
Quick check
No sign-up, no score saved — just see if it stuck.
1. What is -어도 mainly doing in 비가 와도 갈 거예요?
2. How does 가도 differ from 가도 돼요?
3. 가도 vs 가면 for ‘even if I go’?
Common questions
Is every -어도 sentence permission?
No. Permission needs 되다: eodo-doeda. Bare -아도/어도 is concession — even if X, still Y.
How is this different from -으면?
eumyeon is if/when. -어도 is even if — you admit the condition and push past it.
How is this different from -지만?
jiman is a straight but/although contrast between clauses. -어도 often feels like ‘even conceding X…’. Overlap exists; -어도 leans harder on the granted condition.
Can I use past before -어도?
Yes — the dictionary allows -었- before -어도: 바빴어도, 갔어도. That differs from -아서/어서, which never takes past in the reason clause.
Seen in the wild
Lessons where this pattern showed up in real Korean — news, slang, drama lines.
