About
The word "不过" is formed by directly combining the character "不", meaning "not", with "过", meaning "to pass" or "to exceed", resulting in a literal meaning of "not passing" or "not exceeding". This literal sense evolved into a grammatical function where "不过" serves as a conjunction meaning "but" or "however", or as an adverb meaning "only" or "merely", derived from the concept of not going beyond a limit.
Example Sentences Hide
天气很好，不过有点冷。
他不过是个孩子。
我想去看电影，不过没有时间，所以算了。
尽管遇到了很多困难，不过他们最终成功了。
这个计划听起来不错，不过实施起来可能会遇到不少问题。