About
The character "但" is structurally composed of the person radical 亻 alongside the component 旦, and its earliest signification was "bare" or "naked", an association possibly drawn from the idea of a person exposed at daybreak. This initial meaning later shifted to convey the sense of "only" or "just", denoting limitation, which subsequently provided the semantic foundation for its modern primary function as the adversative conjunction "but". While the graphical form has remained consistent, the phonetic contribution of 旦 has become less transparent due to historical sound changes.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我很忙，但很快乐。
他想去，但没时间。
天气不好，但我们去了。
他学习很努力，但成绩不好。
这本书很厚，但内容很有趣。
虽然价格昂贵，但质量非常好。
她昨天生病了，但今天还是来上班了。
虽然他已经道歉了，但我仍然觉得很难过，因为伤害已经造成了。