Is my understanding correct on this sentence? Particularly, use of だけでも

Question

話だけでも聞いてから結論を述べれば良いだろう
Even if its just a story, you should probably state your conclusion after hearing it.

The main thing I'm sceptical about is that だけでも, does it mean "even if it's..." in this context?

Answer 1

Even if it's... is more simply でも. だけ is just, only. So overall Even if it's just the story.

Since 話 is the object of 聞く, it is a bit hard to use even if it's just.. here. I'd translate it as You should listen at least to the story and then conclude.

Semantically, at least modifies listen to. It says, You should listen to the story at least and conclude, rather than giving the final conclusion without even listening to it. Also note that the story here means something like what (someone) has to say.

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Some other examples:

• 味噌汁だけでも飲みなさい Eat miso soup at least! (eating nothing is bad for your health)
• 君だけでも助かってほしい I hope at least you survive ('I' may not be surviving).
• 1万円だけでももらえるならうれしい Even if it's just 10000 yen, receiving it makes me happy.