Meaning
but; yet; however; only; merely; still
Chinese: 但是，只是。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “dan” becomes a different word in each tone. 但 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 但是dàn shìbut; however
- 不但bù dànnot only (... but also ...)
- 但愿dàn yuànif only (sth were possible); I wish (that)
- 但书dàn shūproviso; qualifying clause
- 非但fēi dànnot only
Example Sentence
我想去，但是没有时间。Wǒ xiǎng qù, dàn shì méi yǒu shí jiān.I want to go, but I do not have time.
我WǒI想xiǎngto think (about)去qùto go，但是dàn shìbut没有méi yǒuhaven't时间shí jiān(concept of) time。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The person radical 亻 plus 旦 (daybreak, sound): it means ‘but, however; only, merely’.
A way to remember it
Person (亻) + 旦 — the connective ‘but’.