B1
连…都 — even
How Chinese says “even” with 连 and a following 都 or 也, why the pair cannot be broken, and how it makes the strongest negative in the language.
连 marks something as surprising — the case you would least expect to be included. It always pairs with 都 or 也 in front of the verb.
连小孩子都知道。
Lián xiǎoháizi dōu zhīdào.
Even a child knows that.
他连我的名字都忘了。
Tā lián wǒ de míngzi dōu wàng le.
He’s even forgotten my name.
The 都 is doing the job it always does — gathering up what came before it — and 连 is what marks that thing as the extreme case.
连小孩子知道。
连小孩子都知道。
连 cannot stand alone. It sets up an expectation that something surprising is being included, and 都 or 也 is what completes it — the same both-halves shape as 虽然…但是.
The strongest negative in the language
连 with a one and a negative says not even a single one. It is the natural way to say nothing at all, not a word, not a soul.
他连一句话都没说。
Tā lián yí jù huà dōu méi shuō.
He didn’t say a single word.
我连一分钱都没有。
Wǒ lián yì fēn qián dōu méiyǒu.
I haven’t got a penny.
The measure word matters here: 一句话, 一分钱, 一个人. Chinese counts the smallest possible unit and then denies even that.
What can go after 连
Not only a noun. A verb works too, and it is a common way to say someone did not do the most basic thing.
他连问都没问。
Tā lián wèn dōu méi wèn.
He didn’t even ask.
The verb is said twice, once after 连 and once after the negative — which looks odd written down and is completely ordinary in speech.
Word order
连 and its phrase can sit before or after the subject, and the difference is which one is being marked as surprising.
连他都不知道。
Lián tā dōu bù zhīdào.
Even he doesn’t know.
他连这个都不知道。
Tā lián zhège dōu bù zhīdào.
He doesn’t even know this.
The first is surprised at him; the second at this. Same words, and the position of 连 is the whole difference.