不過 bat1 gwo3 vs 但係 daan6 hai6
In conjunction, 不過 bat1 gwo3 and 但係 daan6 hai6 both mean “but”.
Both are placed either:
- At the beginning of a sentence,
- At the beginning of the second clause of a compound sentence (with or without a pause).
[box type=”alert” size=”large” border=”full”]但係 daan6 hai6 is used only in Cantonese; 不過 bat1 gwo3 can be used in both Cantonese and Standard Chinese.[/box]
However
但係 daan6 hai6 tends to emphasize the second clause that follows.
He (has) | Already | Eaten | Breakfast | But | Still | Is | Hungry |
keoi5 | ji5 ging1 | sik6 zo2 | zou2 caan1 | daan6 hai6 | zung6 | hou2 | tou5 ngo6 |
佢 | 已經 | 食咗 | 早餐 | 但係 | 仲 | 好 | 肚餓 |
不過 bat1 gwo3 tends to supplement the contrasting words that have been said in the first clause.
He | By | Girlfriend | Dumped | But | He | No | Sad |
keoi5 | bei2 | neoi5 pang4 jau5 | fei1 zo2 | bat1 gwo3 | keoi5 | mou5 | m4 hoi1 sam1 |
佢 | 俾 | 女朋友 | 飛咗 | 不過 | 佢 | 冇 | 唔開心 |
Although… Yet…
但係 daan6 hai6 is sometimes used together with another conjunction, 雖然 seoi1 jin4 which is placed at the head of the first clause.
In such a case, “雖然 seoi1 jin4…但係 daan6 hai6” means “although … yet”. 不過 bat1 gwo3 cannot be used together with another conjunction.
Although | I like iPhone | Yet | I don’t have money to buy |
seoi1 jin4 | ngo5 zung1 ji3 iPhone | daan6 hai6 | ngo5 mou5 cin2 maai5 |
雖然 | 我鍾意iPhone | 但係 | 我冇錢買 |