(dàn) - but, however in Mandarin
dànTraditional: 但
Translation
but, however
Word origin
但 is a phono-semantic compound: 亻 (the person radical) gives a general human-action sense and 旦 (dàn) supplies the sound. It was borrowed as the adversative conjunction 'but, however'.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 亻 (rén, person radical) + 旦 (dàn, phonetic)
Stroke order
但
Examples
，。
I want to go, but I do not have time.
，。
He is very clever but does not work hard.
，。
It is expensive, but the thing is very good.
，。
He is tired, but is still pressing on.
，。
The matter is small, but very important.
Appears in 1 word
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 但.
Used in
Grammar articles
(4)Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Concession in Mandarin: 虽然...还是/但是, 不过, and 还是 (Although, Even So, Nonetheless)
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
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