AdverbsHSK 5
Expressing "even" with 甚至
The conjunction 甚至 inserts an extreme or surprising example into a category, much like "even" in English. It is commonly followed by 都 or 也 to emphasize the extremeness of the example.
Structure
… + 甚至 + [Emphasized Noun] + 都 / 也 + …
The noun after 甚至 is the most surprising or extreme one; 都 or 也 adds emphasis.
Examples
- 每个观众甚至裁判都站起来给他鼓掌。Měi gè guān zhòng shèn zhì cái pàn dōu zhàn qǐ lái gěi tā gǔ zhǎng.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。Wǒ qù guò hěn duō zhōng guó de chéng shì, běi jīng, shàng hǎi, háng zhōu, kūn míng, guì lín, shèn zhì lā sà wǒ yě qù guò.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。Wǒ de péng you dōu bù xǐ huan wǒ de jué dìng, shèn zhì wǒ de jiā rén yě bù zhī chí.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。Tā hěn xǐ huan wán shǒu jī, chī fàn de shí hou, zuò dì tiě de shí hou, shèn zhì shàng cè suǒ de shí hou yě zài wán.He likes playing on his cell phone when he's eating, taking the metro, even when he goes to the bathroom.