Even… (连…都/也…)

Structure 连 + the extreme + 都/也 + (not) verb

连…都/也… (lián… dōu/yě…) highlights an extreme case to imply the rest: "even… / not even…". 他连一句话都没说 = "he didn’t even say a single word". After 连 comes the most unexpected item (the least or the most), and 都/也 picks it up. If the clause is negative, it means "not even"; if positive, "even".

Examples

他tā连lián一yī句jù话huà都dōu没méi说shuō。
He didn’t even say a single word.
这zhè么me简jiǎn单dān的de字zì，他tā连lián写xiě都dōu不bù会huì。
Such a simple character, and he can’t even write it.
我wǒ忙máng得de连lián饭fàn都dōu没méi吃chī。
I was so busy I didn’t even eat.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.