HSK 2 · Modal Verbs

但是 dànshì “but” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 但是 means

  1. but
  2. however

How to say 但是

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale但dàn4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale是shì4th tone, falling

但是 in a sentence

  1. 我想和你一起去，但是我没有时间。

    Wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ yìqǐ qù, dànshì wǒ méiyǒu shíjiān.

    I’d like to go with you, but I don’t have time.

    Sentence #1878426 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 现在正在下雨，但是我想出去。

    Xiànzài zhèngzài xiàyǔ, dànshì wǒ xiǎng chūqu.

    It’s raining, but I’d like to go out.

    Sentence #3077984 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我喜欢英语，但是我说不好。

    Wǒ xǐhuan Yīngyǔ, dànshì wǒ shuō bu hǎo.

    I like English, but I can’t speak it well.

    Sentence #438459 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 但是 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 但 (dàn) with each of its parts in a different colour
但dànbut; yet; however; still
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 旦dawn · dànSound part

Memory aidPerson 亻 with 旦 (dàn) for the sound: but.

The character 是 (shì) with each of its parts in a different colour
是shìto be
  • 日sun · rì
  • 疋roll of cloth · pǐ

How to write 但是

但 7 strokes · 是 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

但是 (dànshì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 但是 (dànshì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 但是

Words with 但

但dàn · but不但búdàn · not only

Words with 是

是shì · to be总是zǒngshì · always还是háishi · or只是zhǐshì · only可是kěshì · but是否shìfǒu · whether (or not)要是yàoshi · if于是yúshì · thereupon就是jiùshì · exactly是非shìfēi · right and wrong

More words: Modal Verbs & Connectors

别bié · don’t可以kěyǐ · can为什么wèishénme · why也yě · also因为yīnwèi · because所以suǒyǐ · so虽然suīrán · although再zài · again

FAQs

但是 (dànshì) means “but” or “however”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it dànshì: dàn with a 4th tone, then shì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 但是 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type danshi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 但是 from the suggestions. Typing danshi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
但是 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.