German Concessive Clauses: obwohl, trotzdem, trotz, dennoch

The ruleThe meaning is the same in all four; the grammar is not: obwohl subordinates, trotzdem and dennoch are adverbs, and trotz is a preposition with the genitive.

The four forms

Word	Class	Word order	Example
obwohl	Subordinating	Verb last	Obwohl es regnete, gingen wir spazieren.
trotzdem	Adverb	Verb second	Es regnete. Trotzdem gingen wir spazieren.
dennoch / jedoch	Adverb, formal	Verb second	Es regnete; dennoch gingen wir spazieren.
trotz	Preposition + genitive	No clause at all	Trotz des Regens gingen wir spazieren.
aber	Coordinating	Nothing changes	Es regnete, aber wir gingen spazieren.

All five sentences mean the same thing. Choosing between them is a matter of register and rhythm: obwohl and aber in speech, dennoch and trotz in formal writing.

obwohl, obgleich, obschon

obwohl is the everyday one. obgleich and obschon mean exactly the same and are literary; you should recognise them and need not use them. All three send the verb to the end.

Obwohl er müde war, arbeitete er weiter. Although he was tired, he kept working. Concessive clause first: the main verb follows the comma directly.
Er arbeitete weiter, obwohl er müde war. He kept working although he was tired. Same sentence, clause second.

trotz takes the genitive

And is followed by a noun, not a clause, so any verb has to be nominalised first. That transformation is itself a B2 skill.

Clause	Prepositional phrase
obwohl es regnete	trotz des Regens
obwohl er krank war	trotz seiner Krankheit
obwohl sie sich bemühten	trotz ihrer Bemühungen

trotz with the dative (trotz dem Regen) is widespread in speech and non-standard in writing. The fixed phrase trotz allem is a dative and is correct.

Concession with a wh-word

However / no matter how is built with auch and a subjunctive-flavoured word order, or with egal.

Wie sehr er sich auch bemühte, es klappte nicht. However hard he tried, it didn't work. Formal.
Egal, wie sehr er sich bemühte, es klappte nicht. No matter how hard he tried, it didn't work. Everyday.
Was auch immer passiert, ich bleibe. Whatever happens, I'm staying.

Where it goes wrong

Obwohl es regnete, trotzdem gingen wir spazieren.

Obwohl es regnete, gingen wir spazieren.

One concessive marker per sentence. obwohl has already done the work, and adding trotzdem doubles it: the German equivalent of writing although … nevertheless in one breath.

Common questions

What is the difference between obwohl and trotzdem?

Grammar, not meaning. obwohl is a subordinating conjunction and sends its verb to the end. trotzdem is an adverb that takes first position, so the verb comes second and the subject third. Using trotzdem with verb-final order is a standard error.

Does trotz take the genitive or the dative?

The genitive in standard German: trotz des Regens, trotz der Kälte. The dative is very common in speech and is still treated as non-standard in writing, with the exception of the fixed phrase trotz allem.

How do I say 'no matter how' in German?

Colloquially with egal wie: 'Egal, wie sehr er sich bemüht.' In formal writing, with the wh-word plus auch: 'Wie sehr er sich auch bemühte.' Both are concessive and neither needs obwohl.