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What would be the accurate translation for "Even though"?

I found "даже если" and "даже когда" and in Cambridge dictionary (English- Russian) "несмотря на то что". So, I am a little bit confused about the term that I have to use.

For example:

Even though he is a smart man he did that mistake.

Even though he was around he didn't come to say hello.

Influx
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1 Answers1

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Even though he is a smart man he did that mistake. - Несмотря на то, что он умён ... / Хоть он и умён, ...

Even though he was around he didn't come to say hello. - Несмотря на то, что он был поблизости ... / Хоть он и был поблизости ...

даже когда means even when and is appropriate when there's temporary aspect involved:

He didn't work out even when he was young, much less now when he's 70 - Он не занимался физкультурой, даже когда был молод, а теперь, когда ему 70, и подавно.

даже если - even if, when there's a condition:

Even if he showers her with gifts and jewelry she still won't marry him - Даже если он будет осыпать её подарками и украшениями, она всё равно не пойдёт за него замуж.

Баян Купи-ка
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  • BTW, more natural here would be to adjust tense - "он сделал ошибку, хотя и БЫЛ умён" - "he made a mistake despite he WAS smart". IF we aim at literaturally smooth text as the outcome, not подстрочник – Arioch Apr 06 '18 at 11:31
  • @Arioch or more accurately despite of being smart/despite the fact that he was, but adjustment of tense isn't necessary if a person is considered generally smart and if they're still alive, in any case the English sentence was provided by the OP – Баян Купи-ка Apr 06 '18 at 11:44
  • That is why I explicitly said it depends upon the required translation type. The literary one (подстрочник, word by word) or a "literature" one, which is basically a retelling of the story. When retelling you use constructs and patterns natural for target language. And that is why tense adjustment might get introduced, to make the translated=retold text more Russian, more natural. – Arioch Apr 06 '18 at 12:11