Even X: (ngay) cả … cũng

To say "even X", put ngay cả, or just cả, before X, and cũng before the verb: Ngay cả ba em cũng không biết. Even my dad doesn't know. X is the one you'd least expect, and cũng (also) is what carries the "even".

X can be a person, a time or a thing: Cả chủ nhật anh ấy cũng đi làm. He works even on Sundays. When X is the thing, it moves to the front and the person comes after it: Bận quá, cả cơm em cũng chưa ăn. I've been so busy I haven't even eaten. Ngay cả is a little more emphatic than plain cả.

Don't leave out cũng; còn can take its place, Ngay cả ba em còn không biết. Without one of them, cả usually means "the whole" or "all": cả nhà is the whole family.

Thậm chí also means "even", but it goes before a whole statement, often adding one more step: Anh ấy không gọi, thậm chí không nhắn tin. He didn't call, didn't even text. For "even if", use dù or ngay cả khi.