How to say but, although and however in Chinese

虽然…，但是…HSK 2

This pair means 'although… , (but)…'. Chinese keeps both words in the sentence, e.g. 虽然很贵，但是很好.

虽然我的钱少了，但是我非常高兴！ — Although I have less money now, I'm really happy!

Seen in 买手机过生日唱歌跳舞等公共汽车 +10

不是……而是……HSK 4

"Not A, but B" replaces a wrong idea with the right one: 你不是在记字，而是在认识一种古老的文化。

学好中文不是靠运气，而是靠练习。 — Mastering Chinese depends not on luck, but on practice.

Seen in 汉字的美火锅与朋友时间管理广告的秘密 +10

却HSK 4

却 means "yet; however" and marks a result that goes against what you would expect; unlike 但是 it comes after the subject, as in 人们连机器都没有，却能……

人们连机器都没有，却能在这么高的山上留下这样伟大的建筑。 — People didn't even have machines, yet they managed to leave behind such a great structure on mountains this high.

Seen in 长城游记成语故事：画蛇添足移民与故乡传统手艺的消失 +2

反而HSK 4

"On the contrary; instead" — the result is the opposite of what you would expect: 结果反而更差了。

吃了药，他反而更不舒服了。 — After taking the medicine, he felt even worse instead.

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原来HSK 4

"It turns out (that)" — introduces the real reason you only discover afterwards: 原来羊圈上有一个洞。

他今天没来上课，原来是生病了。 — He didn't come to class today; it turns out he was ill.

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即使……也……HSK 4

"Even if ... still ..." — the result holds even under an extreme condition: 即使你每天只学三五个字，一年以后你也会认识一千多个汉字。

即使明天下雨，我们也要去爬山。 — Even if it rains tomorrow, we will still go hiking.

Seen in 汉字的美遥远的朋友

竟然HSK 4

"Surprisingly; unexpectedly" marks something contrary to what you would expect: 很多城市里长大的孩子竟然听不懂爷爷奶奶的方言了。

他学了三年汉语，竟然没去过中国。 — He has studied Chinese for three years, yet surprisingly has never been to China.

Seen in 普通话与方言网络交友

看起来……其实……HSK 4

'it seems... but actually...' — contrasts appearance with reality.

排队看起来是小事,其实最能说明一个地方的文明水平。

Seen in 排队文化太极拳

与其…，不如…HSK 5

Compares two options and prefers the second: 'rather than A, it is better to B', e.g. 与其在家等着，不如出去找他.

与其让孩子学得那么痛苦，不如让他们保持对学习的兴趣。 — Rather than making children study in such misery, it is better to help them keep their interest in learning.

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哪怕…也…HSK 5

'Even if… still…' — concedes an extreme or minimal case: 哪怕只是关掉灯，也算参与了。

哪怕只有一个学生来，我也会上课。— Even if only one student comes, I will still teach the class.

Seen in 碳中和短视频时代仪式感的意义

并非…，而是…HSK 6

An emphatic corrective pair: 'is by no means A; rather, it is B'. The literary 非 plus reinforcing 并 makes the correction feel authoritative. 例：沉默并非软弱，而是一种修养。

这种模糊并非缺陷，而是一种独特的美。 — This vagueness is by no means a defect but a beauty all its own.

Seen in 汉语的模糊之美集体与个人匠人精神大器晚成 +3

固然…，但…HSK 6

A concessive pivot: 'admittedly A, but B'. It grants the first point genuine validity before asserting that the second matters more. 例：钱固然重要，但健康更重要。

听懂委婉语固然重要，但更重要的是学会使用它。 — Understanding euphemisms is admittedly important, but more important still is learning to use them.

Seen in 委婉语快与慢的辩证碎片化阅读之弊

与其说……，不如说…… — rather than saying A, say BHSK 6

Reframes a claim instead of simply denying it: the speaker accepts that something happened but proposes a more accurate description of it.

这与其说是失败，不如说是一次代价高昂的实验。 — Rather than call it a failure, call it an expensive experiment.

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并不是…，而是…HSK 6

An emphatic correction: 'it is by no means A; rather, it is B'. 并 strengthens the negation, often countering what the reader might assume.

这并不是车变多了，而是你的注意力被“确认偏差”牵引。 — It is not that there are more of those cars; rather, your attention is being pulled by confirmation bias.

Seen in 认知偏差道法自然

A…，B 则…HSK 6

Formal 则 marks a contrast between two subjects: 'A does X, while B does Y'. 例：有的孩子马上吃了糖，有的则熬过了等待。

南方多雨，北方则干燥。— The south gets plenty of rain, while the north is dry.

Seen in 延迟满足中庸之道

How to use this page

These 15 patterns all do the same job in Chinese, so they are worth seeing side by side — the differences between them are easier to feel when they are next to each other than when they are spread across six HSK levels. They range from HSK 2–6.

Grammar sticks through reading, not through lists. Each entry links to the reading it was taken from. Skim the page, then go read one of them and come back when a sentence stops making sense.

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