but why in japanese

No buts about it: how to master the many buts of Japanese

In English, there are many words native speakers reach for without thinking about the specific grammatical function they serve.

Take the word but. Grammatically speaking its a conjunction used to show contrast between two different clauses. Native English speakers probably couldnt tell you that, but they could tell you how to use it all the same.

Although Japanese is pretty different grammatically, it also uses conjunctions. The words for but, for example, are often conjunctions in Japanese as well as in English.

Lets examine some of the ways you can say but in Japanese.


Contents

but why in japanese
but why in japanese
  • 1 How to say but in Japanese
  • 2 だが and だけど: the basic but
    • 2.1 Examples
  • 3 Saying but in Japanese with でも or それでも
    • 3.1 Examples
  • 4 Using の代わりに to imply a mixed blessing
    • 4.1 Examples
  • 5 Using しかし to say but in Japanese
    • 5.1 Examples
  • 6 Bonus: Upping your but game with それにもかかわらないで
    • 6.1 Examples

How to say but in Japanese

There are a number of Japanese expressions that stand in for but, and the one you want will depend partly on the context of your sentence and partly on whether youre in a formal or casual setting.

You can use conjunctions like でも, だが and だけど to stand in for the English word but, although they dont necessarily go in the same place in a sentence as in English.

しかし and けれども fill the same function in a more academic setting. If you need a more nuanced word to show contrast, you can use の代わりに to imply that the contrast is a little bit good and a little bit bad.

だが and だけど: the basic but

だが and たけど are the vanilla versions of the word but in Japanese. If in doubt about which word is most appropriate in a given context, its hard to go wrong with these two conjunctions, which are essentially interchangeable.

Like their English equivalent, these conjunctions typically go in the middle of two phrases to show contrast between them.

In other words, [phrase 1] だが [phrase 2] in Japanese is the same as [phrase 1] but [phrase 2] in English.

The only complicated thing about だが and だけど is that their form differs depending on whether you are using them after a verb or a noun phrase. If youre using either word after a verb, you need to either drop the だ or add の (or ん).

but why in japanese
but why in japanese

That is, [verb] が or [verb] けど as opposed to [noun phrase] だが/だけど.

That might seem confusing, but dont fret! Just remember that だ is the informal version of the copula です, used after nouns when theres no other verb in a clause to mean something like is.

Basically, its the が and the けど that are important for this but, and you will need to add a だ (or a です) after a noun phrase.

Examples

「そのパソコンが欲しいんですが、高すぎるよ。」

I want that computer, but its just too expensive.

Here, が shows up after です. Just as with English but, it serves to show the contrast between two things. In this case, the computer is desirable but is not affordable. This usage comes after a verb but ん has been added, so we keep the です.

「本を読みたかったけどお兄さんの音楽はうるさかったがら集中しなかった。」

I wanted to read, but my brothers music was loud so I couldnt concentrate.

Here, けど follows the past tense ~たい form of the verb 読む, to read. Because the conjunction comes after a verb, it would be ungrammatical to add だ before けど for the same reason you cant say 読みたいです.

In other words, the verb takes the place of the copula.

Saying but in Japanese with でも or それでも

The conjunction でも is fairly easy to use. It or its slightly bigger cousin それでも appear at the start of a new sentence, where they serve to connect whats being said now to what was just said. You can use either word in the middle of a sentence as well, but だが or だけど are more common in those instances.

When spoken, でも is typically followed by a comma. However, that doesnt have to be the case and its also common to see this conjunction at the start of a sentence that goes straight into the main clause.

(Note: The pair of hiragana that make up でも can also appear in Japanese sentences to mean even, such as 「一回でもじゅうぶんです。」 or Even once is plenty, so dont assume any use of でも means there is a but.)

but why in japanese
but why in japanese

Examples

「高かいですよ!それでも、買わなくてもならない。」

Its expensive! But I have to buy it.

「ラーメンは体にわるい。でも上手いです。」

Ramen is bad for your health. But its tasty.

The use of それでも and でも in these two examples is self-explanatory.

Using の代わりに to imply a mixed blessing

While all of the above are perfectly valid ways of saying but, sometimes you want to add nuance. Say you found a really cheap apartment but its right above a bar, or you got fired from your job but you got a big severance package.

Whenever you need to convey some good news that had a little bit of bad news to go with it (or vice versa) you can reach for the handy Japanese phrase の代わりに.

Structurally this nuanced but follows the pattern of だが and だけど. The only difference is that instead of placing a だ after a noun, you place の instead. In other words, if this comes after a verb or adjective you should just use 代わりに.

Its worth noting that after nouns, this phrase often means more like instead of.

Examples

「お父さんはいつも働いてる代わりに金がたくさんあります。」

My father is always working, but because of that we have plenty of money.

「彼女の夫は食品店の代わりにパチンコに行ったと聞いた!」

but why in japanese
but why in japanese

I heard her husband played pachinko instead of going to the grocery store!

Using しかし to say but in Japanese

Many languages have different so-called registers, or words and phrases that are acceptable in casual settings but not in professional ones. Japanese is no exception.

If youre writing a school paper, are in a more formal setting or want to draw more attention to the but youre about to list, try using しかし instead.

Usage for this conjunction is the same as using でも or それでも, in that it most frequently appears at the start of a sentence.

Examples

しかしさあ、本当にガスを切ったと思ったよ。」

But man, I really thought I turned off the gas.

This use of しかし is very informal, but serves to emphasize the contrast in the sentence.

「あの会社の課長は偉そうな人です。しかし、彼は実に大学生の時ずいぶん試験を落ちました。」

The president of that company seems like a smart person. But the truth is, in college he frequently failed his exams.

Bonus: Upping your but game with それにもかかわらないで

The next time you find yourself reaching for but in a Japanese sentence, any of the above will get your point across in a grammatical way.

If you just want to impress your Japanese friends, try this expression on for size: それにもかかわらないで

それにも means even so, while かかわらないで is a negative form of the verb 関わる (to be concerned with). The ~ないで on the end of the verb means something like without [verb]ing or dont [verb].

All told, we can translate this expression as roughly Setting those considerations aside.

By putting it at the start of a sentence, you suggest that what youre about to say is true in spite of an earlier statement.

but why in japanese
but why in japanese

Examples

「彼は変態ですよ。」

「まあ、それにも関わらないでいい人だと思います。」

Hes a weirdo.

Well, that might be the case, but I think hes a good person.

but why in japanese
but why in japanese

Hey fellow Linguaholics! Its me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.