就算 … ，也 … (even if)
IntroducedValue an attempt despite possible failure
- A team says even if就算fail失败，still也worth it值得。 — even if the attempt fails, it is still worthwhile. They value what they can learn from trying.
- The evaluation survives the conceded failure. This does not say failure is certain or that the attempt has already succeeded.
A team values the attempt even if it fails. What does 就算失败，也值得。 communicate?
The speaker keeps the evaluation despite the imagined failure. 就算 introduces a conceded case. It need not mean the speaker predicts that this case will actually occur.
Keep the two clauses connected
- even if就算 + conceded case，…still也 + conclusion asks the listener to grant a case without abandoning the conclusion.
- In the original example, fail失败 is the conceded case and still也worth it值得 is the evaluation. The people and attempt can be understood from the surrounding conversation.
even if就算fail失败，still也worth it值得。
Use the lesson target 就算 in this example: Even if we fail, it's worth it: ____ 失败，也值得。
就算 … ，也 … = even if: 就算失败,也值得.
Do not require a worst case
- even if就算this这个method / approach办法cheap (here)便宜，still也not不definitely一定suit / be suitable for适合we / us我们。 — even if this method is cheap, it may not suit us — grants a favourable price point.
- Cheapness is not the worst possible outcome. even if就算 can concede a point in an argument while refusing the conclusion that the point alone is enough.
就算 is closest to…
就算 = even if / even supposing; pairs with 也.
Match each part of 就算这个办法便宜，也不一定适合我们。 to its job.
Granting cheapness does not establish that the method suits the group.
Use context for what is known
- Before a result is announced, even if就算fail失败，still也worth it值得。 can discuss an imagined failure. It does not establish that the team failed.
- In a different conversation, a receipt already shows a low price. The speaker can grant that known price with even if就算this这个method / approach办法cheap (here)便宜 while still questioning suitability.
就算 must always concede the worst possible case, so a favourable price cannot be conceded.
就算这个办法便宜，也不一定适合我们 concedes a favourable price point while keeping suitability uncertain. A conceded case need not be the worst case.
就算失败 says failure is certain.
就算 introduces a conceded case. It need not mean the speaker predicts that this case will actually occur. The speaker keeps the evaluation despite the imagined failure.
A receipt already confirms the method is cheap. A speaker says 就算这个办法便宜，也不一定适合我们。 Must cheapness be an unknown imagined fact?
The receipt supplies the price evidence. The concessive statement grants that point without accepting suitability.
Keep evaluation separate from permission
- The team’s worthwhile judgement belongs to that stated attempt and those speakers. Another person can disagree about its value.
- The sentence supplies no permission to ignore a budget, an agreed rule or a safety requirement. Those need their own facts and decisions.
A team’s 就算失败，也值得。 gives permission to break a separately agreed spending limit.
A worthwhile evaluation is not permission to ignore another rule; the spending limit has its own authority.
Concede a case without overclaiming
- Find what the speaker is willing to grant and which conclusion remains. Check the wider context before calling the granted case imagined or known.
- Do not turn even if就算 into certainty, always the worst case, everyone agrees, or a calculation: its job here is an even-if relationship.
Read the full reference: HSK 5 grammar — "Even if" statements.
Recall the situation: Value an attempt despite possible failure. Decide what the speaker wanted to communicate. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.
This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.