但凡 (dàn fán) — (adverb, pattern: 但凡…都/也…) whenever; no matter (who, what, when) — emphasizes universal scope; (adverb) so long as; provided that — introduces a necessary condition

Definition

A literary adverb that signals an unconditional or universal claim, often paired with 都 or 也. Use it to mean 'no matter who/what' (whenever) or 'so long as' (provided that).

adverb
(adverb, pattern: 但凡…都/也…) wheneverno matter (who, what, when) — emphasizes universal scopeso long asprovided that — introduces a necessary condition

Examples

  • 但凡，。
    dàn fán Qù guò nà lǐ de rén, dōu shuō fēng jǐng hěn měi.
    Whenever someone has been there, they say the scenery is beautiful.
  • 但凡，。
    dàn fán Yǒu diǎn liáng zhī de rén, yě bú huì zuò chū zhè zhǒng shì.
    No matter who has a little conscience, they wouldn't do such a thing.
  • 但凡，。
    dàn fán Yǒu xī wàng, wǒ men jiù bú huì fàng qì.
    So long as there is hope, we won't give up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

但dànonly
凡fánall/every

但 (only) picks out any one within 凡 (all/every), giving 'whenever' or 'so long as'.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn但dàn
Same sound today

但 pairs 亻, a person, with 旦, which gives its sound.

Open 但 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

Open 凡 →

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