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但是 (dàn shì) — but; however

Definition

但是 is the standard everyday 'but/however' for marking contrast between two clauses. It's more formal and clause-initial than 可是 (more spoken/casual), and more common in writing than 然而.

conjunction
buthowever

Examples

  • ，但是。
    Wǒ míng tiān xiǎng qù gōng yuán, dàn shì tiān qì bù hǎo.
    I want to go to the park tomorrow, but the weather is bad.
  • ，但是。
    Tā xué xí hěn hǎo, dàn shì bú kuài lè.
    He studies very well, but he is not happy.
  • ，但是。
    Zhè ge píng guǒ dà, dàn shì bù hǎo chī.
    This apple is big, but it's not tasty.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

但dànbut
是shìsuffix

但 carries the contrast, and 是 is added to form the word.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 是 →

Grammar

Appears in
100 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 3.0 Level 2500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 21000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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