English Translation
I will accomplish my purpose at any cost.
Does 何としてでも have the same meaning as どうしても？ Also, may we drop the で、as in 何としても？ Are there other common variations of “no matter what”?
@ericaw
We don’t say:
私はどうしても自分の目的を成し遂げます。
The entire collocation sounds unnatural.
But we say:
私はどうしても自分の目的を成し遂げたい。
私はどうしても自分の目的を成し遂げる必要がある。
何としてもでも and 何としても are interchangeable in this sentence. This is just my personal feeling but 何としてもでも has a little bit stronger commitment. The difference is very subtle. Some other native speakers may say the two phrases have the exactly same meaning.
You may also want to memorize this useful phrase: 是が非でも (pron. ぜがひでも). 是 means “yes/favorable situation” and 非 is “no/unfavorable situation”.
是が非でも私は自分の目標を成し遂げます。 = Even if the entire world turns upside down, I shall accomplish my purpose.
As you might have already learnt, 是非 as in 是非お願いします or 是非来てください adds the nuance of strong request. 是非 is actually a shortened and lighter version of 是が非でも.
This is just a follow-on explanation, but 是々非々で (ぜぜひひで) has a different meaning. For example,
あの投資計画については、是々非々で検討しましょう。= Let’s discuss on the feasibility/profitability of the investment plan with open minds and with no biases. Good is good. Bad is bad. Period.
是々非々で is a common phrase particularly in a decision-making process. If you replace 是々非々で with 是が非でも, the altered sentence means “Let’s discuss on the investment plan no matter how many other plans are piled up to be also discussed.” etc. 是が非でも is a strong commitment to holding a discussion but it doesn’t guarantee the result of the discussion. The plan may or may not be rejected after the discussion.
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Thank you for your gracious response and examples @MsFixer. In interpreting your examples of natural vs. unnatural usage of どうしても as well as looking to 英辞郎 for further examples, my interpretation is that どうしても must be used alongside a desire (マス V + たく), need (V+ 必要 / V+なければならない, etc.), ability or lack thereof (Vを得ない、V-potential), or some kind of effort (V-volitionalとする), rather than just a plain verb. Would you please correct me if I am wrong?
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