Even: 连…都／也…
连 picks out the most surprising case and says that even that one is included. 都 or 也 must follow it — the pattern is never used with 连 alone.
Structure
（主语）+ 连 + 名词／动词 + 都／也 + 谓语 ｜ 连 + 一 + 量词 + 名词 + 都／也 + 不／没 + 动词
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
marks an extreme example and the sentence then says that even it behaves like the rest: “He can read even Chinese newspapers.” The point is not the newspapers themselves but what they imply — if he manages those, everything easier follows.
The second half is obligatory. or comes after the phrase and before the predicate, and neither may be dropped: “I don’t recognise a single character.” Without the sentence loses the “even” claim entirely. and are interchangeable here, though is slightly more common.
What marks can be an object, a subject or a verb. As an object it is normally fronted: “I haven’t even seen this character.” Note the shape when a verb is marked: the verb is repeated, V V. As a subject: “Even the teacher doesn’t know the answer.”
A very frequent version uses + measure word to mean “not even one”: , . In this negative use, ／ comes before or , not after: , never .
The pattern is emphatic and belongs mostly to speech and lively writing. Because it singles out an extreme, it sounds odd with an ordinary fact: saying about a Chinese major is strange, since nothing about it is surprising.
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
他连中文报纸都看得懂。他連中文報紙都看得懂。
Tā (first tone, high and level) lián (second tone, rising) Zhōngwén (first tone, high and level) bàozhǐ (fourth tone, falling) dōu (first tone, high and level) kàn (fourth tone, falling) de (neutral tone) dǒng. (third tone, dipping)···
He can read even Chinese newspapers.
我连一个字也不认识。我連一個字也不認識。
Wǒ (third tone, dipping) lián (second tone, rising) yí (second tone, rising) ge (neutral tone) zì (fourth tone, falling) yě (third tone, dipping) bú (second tone, rising) rènshi. (fourth tone, falling)···
I don’t recognise a single character.
他连饭都没吃就走了。他連飯都沒吃就走了。
Tā (first tone, high and level) lián (second tone, rising) fàn (fourth tone, falling) dōu (first tone, high and level) méi (second tone, rising) chī (first tone, high and level) jiù (fourth tone, falling) zǒu (third tone, dipping) le. (neutral tone)···
He left without so much as eating.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 我连一个字不认识。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我连一个字也不认识。
Why: 连 must be answered by 都 or 也. Without one of them the sentence is only a plain negative and the “even” force is lost.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他连饭没都吃就走了。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他连饭都没吃就走了。
Why: 都 comes before the negator, not after it. The order is always 连 + item + 都／也 + 不／没 + verb.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 一个字我连也不认识。
Correct
Correct sentence: 我连一个字也不认识。
Why: 连 opens the phrase it marks and cannot be separated from it. The item follows 连 immediately.
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
The two patterns look like mirror images and share the adverb 都, which is why they get mixed up. 除了…以外，…都… takes one item *out* of the group: 除了小王以外，我们都去过长城 — Xiao Wang did not go. 连…都… puts one surprising item *into* the group: 连小王都去过长城 — Xiao Wang went too, and if even he did, everyone did. The 都 is doing the same job in both — grouping the rest — but 除了 excludes the named item while 连 includes it. Read the opening word, not the 都.
Besides and except: 除了…以外 →Often confused with
Not only… but also: 不但…而且…
主语 + 不但 + A，而且 + 还／也 + B（同一主语） ｜ 不但 + 主语1 + A，而且 + 主语2 + 也 + B
More →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Fill the gap: “I don’t recognise a single character.”
我连一个字 ___ 不认识。