但是

Chinese

		but; yet; however but; yet; however; only; merely; still	be; yes; this
simp. and trad. (但是)		但	是
anagram		是但

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): dànshì

(Zhuyin): ㄉㄢˋ ㄕˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): daan⁶ si⁶
Eastern Min (BUC): dáng-*sê
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): tān-sī / tān-sǐ / nā-sī

(Teochew, Peng'im): dang⁶ si⁶
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶de-zy

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: dànshì → dànshi (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄉㄢˋ ㄕˋ → ㄉㄢˋ ˙ㄕ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Tongyong Pinyin: dànshi̊h
  - Wade–Giles: tan⁴-shih⁵
  - Yale: dàn-shr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dann.shyh
  - Palladius: даньши (danʹši)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tän⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/ → /tän⁵¹ ʂʐ̩¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: daan⁶ si⁶
  - Yale: daahn sih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: daan⁶ si⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: dan⁶ xi⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /taːn²² siː²²/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: dáng-*sê
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /taŋ²¹³⁻⁵³ sɛi²⁴²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Penang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tān-sī
  - Tâi-lô: tān-sī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: daxnsi
  - IPA (Taipei): /tan³³⁻¹¹ si³³/
  - IPA (Penang): /tan²¹ si²¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /tan²²⁻²¹ si²²/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tan³³⁻²¹ si³³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tān-sǐ
  - Tâi-lô: tān-sǐ
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tan⁴¹⁻²² si²²/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, variant in Taiwan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nā-sī
  - Tâi-lô: nā-sī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: naxsi
  - IPA (Xiamen): /nã²²⁻²¹ si²²/
  - IPA (Taipei): /nã³³⁻¹¹ si³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /nã³³⁻²¹ si³³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: dang⁶ si⁶
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tăng sĭ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /taŋ³⁵⁻¹¹ si³⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶de-zy
  - MiniDict: de^去 zy
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³de-zr
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /de²² zz̩⁴⁴/

Conjunction

但是

but; however
這兩臺筆記本雖然外形很像，但是功能上卻差別很大。 [MSC, trad.]
这两台笔记本虽然外形很像，但是功能上却差别很大。 [MSC, simp.]
Zhè liǎng tái bǐjìběn suīrán wàixíng hěn xiàng, dànshì gōngnéng shàng què chābié hěn dà. [Pinyin]
Although these two notebooks look very similar, their functions are quite different.

王秀英雖然考了第一，但是她一點也不驕傲。 [MSC, trad.]
王秀英虽然考了第一，但是她一点也不骄傲。 [MSC, simp.]
Wáng Xiùyīng suīrán kǎo le dìyī, dànshì tā yīdiǎn yě bù jiāo'ào. [Pinyin]
Although Wang Xiuying scored first in the exam, she was not at all arrogant about it.

你剛才說得很好，但是有一點我不敢苟同。 [MSC, trad.]
你刚才说得很好，但是有一点我不敢苟同。 [MSC, simp.]
Nǐ gāngcái shuō de hěn hǎo, dànshì yǒu yī diǎn wǒ bùgǎngǒutóng. [Pinyin]
What you just said makes sense, but there is one thing I can't agree with.
- 其餘的人無一个敢近倚𪜶，但是百姓尊重𪜶。 [Hokkien, trad.]
  其余的人无一个敢近倚𪜶，但是百姓尊重𪜶。 [Hokkien, simp.]
  From: 巴克禮譯本 (Barclay Amoy Romanized Bible), 使徒行傳 (Acts) 5:13
  Kî-û ê lâng bô chi̍t ê káⁿ kūn-óa in, nā-sī peh-sìⁿ chun-tiōng in. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
  And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.

Usage notes

Unlike in English, in Chinese it is customary for 雖然／虽然 (suīrán, “although”) to be followed by 但是 (dànshì, “but; however”).

Synonyms

無奈／无奈 (wúnài)

Dialectal synonyms of 但是 (“but; however”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		而, 然, 但, 卻, 則
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		但是, 但, 可是, 不過, 然而
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	但是, 但, 可是, 不過
	Malaysia	但
	Singapore	但, 但是, 可是, 不過
Southwestern Mandarin	Pematangsiantar	tapi
Cantonese	Guangzhou	但係, 不過, 之不過, 之但係
	Hong Kong	但係, 不過, 之不過, 之但係, but
	Taishan	但係
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	但係
	Singapore (Guangfu)	但係, 不過, 之不過
Hakka	Meixian	但係, 董係
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	但係, 毋過
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	但係, 毋過, 毋故
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	但係, 毋過
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	但係, 毋過
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	但係, 毋過
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	毋過
	Senai (Huiyang)	但係
	Kuching (Hepo)	tapi
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	但是
Eastern Min	Matsu	但是
Southern Min	Xiamen	但是, 毋過, 毋句, 不過, 不而過
	Quanzhou	但是, 毋句, 不過, 不而過
	Zhangzhou	但是, 毋過, 不過, 不而過
	Taipei	但是, 毋過, 不而過
	Penang (Hokkien)	tapi, 但是
	Singapore (Hokkien)	tapi, 但是, 毋句, 毋過
	Manila (Hokkien)	但是, 毋句, 毋過
	Medan (Hokkien)	tapi
	Shantou	是呾
	Shantou (Chenghai)	是呾
	Jieyang	是呾, 比補
	Bangkok (Teochew)	但是, แต่ว่า
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	但是, tapi
	Singapore (Teochew)	tapi, 不過, 但是
	Wenchang	但是
	Qionghai	但是
Wu	Shanghai	但是, 必過, 不過, 但不過, 但必過
Wu	Wuxi	但必過

Adverb

但是

(literary) merely by; just by ... alone