Chinese word

不过

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù guò

Meaning

  • conjunctionbut

Example

我想去，不过太贵了。wǒ xiǎng qù bú guò tài guì le

I want to go, but it's too expensive.

Illustration for 不过 (but)

More examples

他很忙，不过还是来帮我了。tā hěn máng bú guò hái shì lái bāng wǒ le

He was very busy, but he still came to help me.

Core concept

A boundary marker that lets a speaker accept what came before while adding what keeps it from being complete.

Common phrases

  • 不过还是bú guò hái shì

    but still

Similar words

可是kě shì: Signals a clear contradiction to the preceding statement in daily speech.
但是dàn shì: Recognizes the preceding fact and then presents a contrary fact or view.
只是zhǐ shì: Adds one specific limitation to what was just said.

Definition in Chinese

用于承认前述情况并做出轻微转折或补充说明，语气较日常，比“但是”更随意，常用于口语对话中。yòng yú chéng rèn qián shù qíng kuàng bìng zuò chū qīng wēi zhuǎn zhé huò bǔ chōng shuō míng yǔ qì jiào rì cháng bǐ dàn shì gèng suí yì cháng yòng yú kóu yǔ duì huà zhōng

Word origin

不 (bù, "not") + 过 (guò, "go past") presents something as staying within a limit, and that image extends to adding a restriction after an earlier point.

Usage tips

  • Noticing whether this word comes before a new clause or a number helps learners recognize its two common jobs: a conversational turn and a stated upper limit.

Other meanings

  • onlyadverb

Word lists with this word