LEARN + CHINESE / 154 of 300 HSK 4
Even the Teacher 连…也
“连老师也忘了带钥匙”—even the teacher forgot their keys. 连 points to the detail that sits furthest along the scale of expectation; 也 or 都 completes the thought. The surprising item comes right after 连.
这个问题连老师都觉得难。
Zhège wèntí lián lǎoshī dōu juéde nán.
Even the teacher finds this question difficult.
The teacher is the surprising example: if even the teacher finds it difficult, it must be a tough question.
昨天太忙了，我连午饭都没吃。
Zuótiān tài máng le, wǒ lián wǔfàn dōu méi chī.
I was so busy yesterday that I didn’t even eat lunch.
Here the missed lunch is the extreme detail. 连…都 makes the listener notice how busy the speaker was.
他说得太快，连我也听不懂。
Tā shuō de tài kuài, lián wǒ yě tīngbudǒng.
He speaks so fast that even I can’t understand him.
也 can replace 都 in the second part. Both complete the pattern; choose the one that sounds natural in your sentence.
Hint · 힌트
Keep the focus after 连: 连老师都…, 连午饭也…. The word after 连 is the detail you want the listener to find surprising.
In Real Life
连…也/都 is common in conversation when you want to underline an exception or an extreme case: even this person, even that small thing, or even at that time.
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
lián | even; including |
lǎoshī | teacher |
wèntí | question; problem |
juéde | to feel; think |
nán | difficult |
zuótiān | yesterday |
tài máng | too busy |
wǔfàn | lunch |
méi chī | didn’t eat |
shuō | to speak; say |
tài kuài | too fast |
tīngbudǒng | to be unable to understand by listening |
yě | also; even |
dōu | all; even |
tóngxué | classmate |
ānjìng | quiet |
píngshí | usually |
zuì | most |
lìzi | example |
jíduān | extreme |
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