The concession frame: 虽然 needs a partner

Mandarin builds concession as a two-part frame. The first clause concedes a fact with 虽然 (suī rán), 'although'; the second clause states what happens in spite of it, opened by 但是 (dàn shì), 可是 (kě shì), or 还是 (hái shì). Crucially, the second marker is not optional. Where English is happy with one connector ('although it rained, I went'), Mandarin wants both ends marked.

• 虽然下雨，我还是去 (suī rán xià yǔ, wǒ hái shì qù) - although it is raining, I am still going
• 虽然他很累，但是他不睡 (suī rán tā hěn lèi, dàn shì tā bù shuì) - although he is very tired, he is not sleeping
• 虽然这本书很贵，我还是买了 (suī rán zhè běn shū hěn guì, wǒ hái shì mǎi le) - although this book is expensive, I bought it anyway

The 虽然 sits at the head of the first clause (or just after its subject: 他虽然很累 is equally fine). The partner word heads the second clause. Think of 虽然 as the opening bracket and 但是 / 还是 as the closing bracket. You do not get to leave a bracket open.

但是, 可是, 不过: the three "but" words

The closing bracket has three near-synonyms, and they shade from formal to casual rather than carrying different meanings.

• 但是 (dàn shì) is the neutral, all-purpose 'but'. Good in writing and speech.
• 可是 (kě shì) is slightly more conversational and a touch more emotive, closer to 'but still' with a sigh in it.
• 不过 (bú guò) is the softest of the three: a gentle, conversational 'but / though / mind you' that takes the edge off a contradiction.

不过 is the one worth singling out for GCSE Higher, because it lets you contradict politely. Compare:

• 这家餐厅很好，但是很贵 (zhè jiā cān tīng hěn hǎo, dàn shì hěn guì) - this restaurant is good, but it is expensive (flat statement of the downside)
• 这家餐厅很好，不过有点贵 (zhè jiā cān tīng hěn hǎo, bú guò yǒu diǎn guì) - this restaurant is good, though it is a bit pricey (softened, almost apologetic)

不过 also commonly stands at the start of a follow-up sentence as 'that said' or 'mind you', which 但是 does too but more bluntly: 我想去。不过，我没时间 (wǒ xiǎng qù. bú guò, wǒ méi shí jiān) - I want to go. That said, I have no time. All three of these are coordinating conjunctions; for how they sit among the wider family of joining words see conjunctions.

还是, sense one: still / nonetheless

When 还是 closes a 虽然 frame, it means 'still / anyway / nonetheless'. It sits before the verb in the second clause and tells you the action goes ahead despite the concession. This is the sense you reach for when the outcome defies the obstacle.

• 虽然很晚了，他还是在工作 (suī rán hěn wǎn le, tā hái shì zài gōng zuò) - although it is late, he is still working
• 大家都反对，她还是做了 (dà jiā dōu fǎn duì, tā hái shì zuò le) - everyone was against it, she did it nonetheless

Note that 还是 here lives inside the second clause and modifies the verb, where 但是 sits at the very head of the clause before the subject. You can even stack them for emphasis: 虽然下雨，但是我还是去 (suī rán xià yǔ, dàn shì wǒ hái shì qù) - although it rains, but I am still going anyway. To an English ear that doubles up 'but' and 'still', yet in Mandarin it is perfectly idiomatic: 但是 brackets the clause and 还是 modifies the verb, so they are doing different jobs in different slots.

Do not confuse this 还是 with the 还是 that means 'or' in questions (你喝茶还是咖啡 - tea or coffee). That is a separate function entirely, covered under question words. Same characters, different job, decided by context.

还是, sense two: had better

The second life of 还是 has nothing to do with concession. Placed before a verb in a suggestion, often closed by the soft particle 吧 (ba), it means 'had better / would be better off / it would be best to'. You are weighing options and landing on the wiser one.

• 你还是早点去吧 (nǐ hái shì zǎo diǎn qù ba) - you had better go a bit earlier
• 我们还是坐地铁吧 (wǒ men hái shì zuò dì tiě ba) - we had better take the underground
• 太晚了，你还是别去了 (tài wǎn le, nǐ hái shì bié qù le) - it is too late, you had better not go

The flavour is gentle recommendation, not command. It implies you have considered alternatives ('we could drive, but...') and 坐地铁 wins. The 吧 at the end softens it further into a suggestion the listener is free to accept. This is suggestion territory, so it pairs naturally with the modal verbs of advice in modals and intent and the softening tactics in requests and imperatives.

How do you tell the two senses of 还是 apart? Position and partner. After a 虽然 clause and before an indicative verb, it is 'still / nonetheless'. At the head of a suggestion, usually with 吧 hanging off the end and no concession in front, it is 'had better'. The contexts barely overlap.

Minimal pairs side by side

Hold the verb 去 (qù, go) still and watch how the framing word changes the meaning.

The bottom row is the trap: identical 还是, but it is the 'or' of an alternative question, not concession and not advice. Reading these aloud back to back trains your ear to the framing rather than the characters.

The errors that catch everyone

Error 1: leaving 虽然 with no partner

This is the headline mistake. English drops 'although' as a lone connector, so learners drop 虽然 the same way and forget the closing bracket.

• ✗ 虽然下雨，我去 - WRONG (or at best bare and unidiomatic). The concession is opened and never answered. Add the partner: 虽然下雨，我还是去 (suī rán xià yǔ, wǒ hái shì qù) - although it rains, I still go.
• ✗ 虽然他很累，他工作 - WRONG. Needs the bracket closed: 虽然他很累，他还是工作 / 虽然他很累，但是他工作.

The fix is a habit, not a rule you reason out each time: the moment you write 虽然, plant a 但是 or 还是 in the next clause.

Error 2: pairing 虽然 with 因为 or the wrong logic word

虽然 concedes; it does not give a reason. Learners sometimes reach for 因为 (because) or 所以 (so) to close the frame, which mixes up concession with cause and effect.

• ✗ 虽然下雨，所以我不去 - WRONG. 所以 is the 'so' of cause and effect, not concession. If rain stops you going, that is plain cause-effect: 因为下雨，所以我不去 (because it rains, so I do not go). If you go in spite of the rain, that is concession: 虽然下雨，我还是去.
• The two frames are mirror opposites. 因为...所以 says the result follows from the cause. 虽然...还是/但是 says the result defies it.

Error 3: misreading 还是 as "or" in a statement

Because 还是 is also the 'or' of alternative questions, learners parse a concessive 还是 as a question and get lost.

• 虽然很贵，我还是买 (suī rán hěn guì, wǒ hái shì mǎi) is although it is expensive, I am buying it anyway, NOT 'expensive or I buy'. There is no second alternative and no question, so 还是 cannot be 'or' here. Context decides: a concession clause in front locks 还是 into 'nonetheless'.

Error 4: putting 还是 in the 但是 slot

但是 sits at the very head of the second clause, before the subject. 还是 sits inside the clause, before the verb, after the subject. Swapping the slots reads oddly.

• ✗ 虽然下雨，还是我去 - clumsy. Put 还是 after the subject and before the verb: 虽然下雨，我还是去 (suī rán xià yǔ, wǒ hái shì qù). If you want the marker before the subject, use 但是: 虽然下雨，但是我去.

What to drill

1. Always close the 虽然 bracket. The instant you write 虽然, commit to a 还是 or 但是 in the next clause. A lone 虽然 is the signature learner error.
2. Pick the "but" by register. 但是 neutral, 可是 a touch more conversational, 不过 the softest and most polite. For a gentle downside, reach for 不过.
3. Separate the two 还是. After 虽然 and before a plain verb it is 'still / nonetheless'; heading a suggestion with 吧 on the end it is 'had better'. Different slot, different job.
4. Do not let 还是 collapse into "or". A concession in front of it kills the 'or' reading. No alternative, no question, no 'or'.
5. Keep concession and cause apart. 虽然...还是 defies the cause; 因为...所以 follows from it. They are mirror frames, not interchangeable.

For the wider set of joining words that build complex sentences, see conjunctions. For the suggestion and advice uses of 还是...吧, see modals and intent and requests and imperatives. For the 'A or B' question sense of 还是 that learners confuse with concession, see question words.