How to say “but” in Chinese
but, on the contrary; come on
“But” in Chinese is 倒是, dào shì: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
倒是 is read dào shì: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 亻 “person”; on the right, 到 dào hints at the sound. Second reading: dǎo, “fall”.
On top, 日 “sun”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “倒是”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 倒是. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我倒是想去可是没时间wǒdàoshìxiǎngqù,kěshìméishíjiānI’d actually like to go, but I don’t have time.
More words from the lesson “Just right and after all”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “but” in Chinese?
“But” in Chinese is 倒是, pinyin dàoshì.
What does 倒是 mean?
倒是 (dàoshì) means “but, on the contrary; come on”.
How do you write 倒是?
倒是 is 2 characters: 倒 (dào) — pour; turn upside down; 是 (shì) — be. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 倒是?
倒是 is read dàoshì. Tones: dào — fourth tone, shì — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“but” in the lesson “Just right and after all”
This word is from the topic “Adverbs: exactly how” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free