What does いくつになっても exactly mean?

Question

いくつになっても「いい子」が上手いな!

A is angry at B for being kind to somebody and says that. They are both young adults.

It should mean "No matter the age, you are good at being a good boy!", but I don't understand the logic of いくつ. I need a more literal translation, word by word.

I've found いくつになったら, it's similar, but it's a question, mine is not.

Can you say どこになっても, 誰になっても, 何になっても and so on too, when you're not asking a question? If so, can you make some examples with other pronouns too, please?

Answer 1

• いくつ can mean "how old" by itself. It should be explained in any Japanese-English dictionary.
• interrogative + ても/でも is a basic pattern to say "wherever", "no matter who/what/how", etc.
  • Maggie Sensei: Wh-ever/No matter wh/how: ても/でも ( = temo/demo)
  • 【JLPT N3 Grammar】Question word + 〜ても
• This (～に)なる is a simple verb that means "to turn (age)". For example, 5歳になる means "to turn 5". It's not part of a special construction in this case.

Therefore, いくつになっても straightforwardly means "no matter how old (someone) gets".

Likewise, 誰になっても can mean "whoever you become" (e.g., in a context of shapeshifting) or "no matter who is chosen" (e.g., in a context of election).