〜にしろ (~ni shiro) — even if / even granting that (formal)
'Even granting that, my view does not change' — the formal cousin of としても that also takes facts.
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
When to use it
To a staff member who skipped a day, the 店長 said: 「忙しかったにしても、休む前に電話ぐらいはしてほしかった」— fine, you were busy, I accept that, but you should at least have called.
Meaning
- Used once, it means 'even granting that, my view does not change' (even if).
- What comes before can be a supposition or an established fact — that is why the manager, knowing the person really was busy, could still say 「にしても」.
- What follows must be the speaker's evaluation, judgement or feeling — 〜てほしかった・〜たほうがいい・後悔はしない.
- Very common with question words: 「何をするにせよ」(whatever you do), 「どこに住むにしろ」(wherever you live), 「いずれにしろ」(either way).
- Put 「たとえ」in front for extra force: 「たとえ給料が安いにしろ」.
How to attach
- N directly; plain form for verbs and い-adjectives + にしろ
- な-adjectives and nouns drop 「だ」: 冗談にしても, 無理にせよ (the 「である」form also exists)
- Same three levels: 「にしても」soft, 「にしろ」middle, 「にせよ」stiff; in speech you will also hear 「にしたって」.
Versus what you know
- N3Before 「〜としても」(行くとしても、一人では行かない) comes only a supposition — we do not know if it will happen.
- Before 「にしても・にしろ・にせよ」it can be a supposition or a fact.
- Compared with 「〜ても」(忙しくても) it is a bit more formal, and the 'let us grant that, but…' tone is stronger.
Watch out
It does not work for a plain report of events like 'it was pricey but I bought it last week' — that is 「けど」「のに」territory.
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
忙しかったにしても、休む前に電話ぐらいはしてほしかった。
いそがしかったにしても、やすむまえにでんわぐらいはしてほしかった。
Even if you were busy, I wish you had at least called before taking the day off.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 忙しかった = was busy (a fact that already happened) → attach 「にしても」 to the 普通形 (としても doesn't work here, because it isn't hypothetical) → then the speaker's feeling: 〜てほしかった.
何を始めるにせよ、まず日本語をしっかり勉強しておいたほうがいい。
なにをはじめるにせよ、まずにほんごをしっかりべんきょうしておいたほうがいい。
Whatever you start, you had better study Japanese properly first.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 何を始める = whatever you start (with a question word) → 「にせよ」 just once → "whatever it is" → then the advice: 〜たほうがいい.
たとえ給料が安いにしろ、今の職場は人がいいので辞めたくない。
たとえきゅうりょうがやすいにしろ、いまのしょくばはひとがいいのでやめたくない。
Even if the pay is low, the people at my current workplace are good, so I don't want to quit.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) 給料が安い = the pay is low (い-adj, as it is) → 「たとえ」 in front adds emphasis → 「にしろ」 → then the speaker's decision: 辞めたくない.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
「＿、言っていいことと悪いことがある。」— how does 冗談 attach?
💡 Hint: What happens to だ after a noun?
Nouns and な-adjectives drop だ and attach directly: 冗談にしても (or 冗談であるにしても).
Which sentence is unnatural?
💡 Hint: The clause after must be the speaker's evaluation or judgement.
'It was pricey, I bought it last week' is a plain event with no evaluation — say 「高かったけど」. After にしろ comes the speaker's evaluation, judgement or feeling.
What is the difference in what comes before 「〜としても」and 「〜にしても」?
💡 Hint: The manager's 「忙しかったにしても」— supposition or fact?
Before としても only a supposition (仮定); before にしても・にしろ・にせよ either a supposition or a fact (事実).
Your score: /3