Chinese word

却

Pronunciation

Pinyinquè

Meaning

  • adverbbut

Example

她说会来，却没来。tā shuō huì lái què méi lái

She said she would come, but she didn't.

Illustration for 却 (but)

More examples

大家都认为他会赢，却输了比赛。dà jiā dōu rèn wéi tā huì yíng què shū le bǐ sài

Everyone thought he would win, but he lost the match.

Core concept

A brief turn away from the result that the situation seems to promise, especially when the real outcome is surprising.

Common phrases

  • 却发现què fā xiàn

    but discover

  • 却成了què chéng le

    but become

  • 却没有想到què méi yǒu xiǎng dào

    but not expect

Similar words

反而fǎn ér: Marks an unexpected result that goes in the opposite direction from what was expected.
竟然jìng rán: Expresses surprise that an unexpected fact or event has occurred.
不过bú guò: Adds a mild contrast or exception to what was just said.

Definition in Chinese

表示与期待或常理相反的转折，有时带有强调出乎意料的语气，常用来突出事实与预期的落差。biǎo shì yǔ qī dài huò cháng lǐ xiāng fǎn de zhuǎn zhé yǒu shí dài yǒu qiáng diào chū hū yì liào de yǔ qì cháng yòng lái tū chū shì shí yǔ yù qī de luò chā

Word origin

却 (què, "but") comes from an older sense of retreating or stepping back, which developed into marking a move away from an expected result.

Usage tips

  • English often puts "but" between clauses, while this adverb commonly appears after the subject in the contrasting clause, which makes the gap between expectation and fact stand out.

Word lists with this word