---
title: "怎么 + 也/都 + negative result (no matter how) in Chinese Grammar: No matter how (hard one tries), …, With Examples"
description: "怎么 + 也/都 + negative result (no matter how): no matter how (hard one tries), …. 怎么也/都 + negative: whatever one does, it doesn’t happen — 怎么也想不起来 “just can’t remember”. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zenme-ye-vbc"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 怎么 + 也/都 + negative result (no matter how)

No matter how (hard one tries), …

怎么也/都 + negative: whatever one does, it doesn’t happen — 怎么也想不起来 “just can’t remember”.

## In stories

别人的头都沉下去了，只有这九个人的头，**怎么也沉不下去**。

[沙和尚 · Sandy of the Flowing Sand River](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/sandy-of-the-flowing-sand-river-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-16#library-word-636-643) HSK 3

孙悟空的头还在外面，可是他**怎么也出不来**。

[五行山下 · Under the Five-Element Mountain](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/under-the-five-element-mountain-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-8#library-word-750-756) HSK 3

人们听说了，马上坐船去河上找他，可是**怎么也找不到**。

[端午节：龙舟和粽子 · What is the Dragon Boat Festival?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/what-is-the-dragon-boat-festival#library-word-209-215) HSK 3

他**怎么也没想到**，这只猴子将来会给他带来多大的麻烦。

[美猴王 · The Handsome Monkey King](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/monkey-king-born-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-1#library-word-306-312) HSK 5

[Read 沙和尚](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/sandy-of-the-flowing-sand-river-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-16#library-word-636-643)

## More patterns

- [连…都/也… even …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/lian-dou)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)
- [什么 + 也/都 + negative not … anything](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shenme-ye-neg)
- [一 + measure + (noun) + 也/都 + negative not even …; not a single one](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-ye-bu)

## What does 怎么 + 也/都 + negative result (no matter how) mean in Chinese?

No matter how (hard one tries), …. 怎么也/都 + negative: whatever one does, it doesn’t happen — 怎么也想不起来 “just can’t remember”.

## How common is 怎么 + 也/都 + negative result (no matter how)?

It comes up in 9 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.