但 (dàn): but
但 (dàn) is a Chinese character meaning “but.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 旦 (phonetic). It ranks #95 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 但 is a compound character. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- but
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticThis character is a compound form.
Decomposition: ⿰亻旦 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 但 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 但
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 但愿 | dàn yuàn | if only (sth were possible) |
| 但凡 | dàn fán | every single |
| 非但 | fēi dàn | not only |
| 但书 | dàn shū | proviso |
| 格但斯克 | gé dàn sī kè | Gdansk, city on Baltic in north Poland |
| 但以理书 | dàn yǐ lǐ shū | Book of Daniel |
| 马但 | mǎ dàn | Matthan, son of Eleazar and father of Jakob in Matthew 1.15 |
| 但愿如此 | dàn yuàn rú cǐ | if only it were so |
| 约但 | yuē dàn | variant of 約旦|约旦[Yue1 dan4] |
| 但尼生 | dàn ní shēng | Tennyson (name) |
| 不求有功，但求无过 | bù qiú yǒu gōng , dàn qiú wú guò | lit. not aiming to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mistakes (idiom) |
| 约但河 | yuē dàn hé | variant of 約旦河|约旦河[Yue1 dan4 He2] |
| 虽迟但到 | suī chí dàn dào | (slang) slow to arrive but eventually shows up |
| 但说无妨 | dàn shuō wú fáng | there is no harm in saying what one thinks (idiom) |
| 圣但尼 | shèng dàn ní | St Denis or St Dennis |
但 appears in 19 compound words: 47 as the first character, 26 as the last, and 26 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 但 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
这个方案成本比较高，但效果应该会更好。
Zhè gè fāng'àn chéngběn bǐjiào gāo, dàn xiàoguǒ yīnggāi huì gèng hǎo.
This plan has higher costs, but the results should be better.
紧急储蓄帐户可与401(k)计画结合 但很少雇主这样做
jǐn jí chǔ xù zhàng hù kě yǔ 4 0 1 ( k ) jì huà jié gě dàn hěn shǎo gù zhǔ zhè yàng zuò
Emergency savings accounts can be combined with 401(k) plans but few employers do
葡萄牙房地产发展势头不减,但步伐有所改变
pú táo yá fáng dì chǎn fā zhǎn shì tóu bù jiǎn , dàn bù fá yǒu suǒ gǎi biàn
Portuguese real estate is gaining momentum, but the pace has changed
...ca Generali第四季度业绩创纪录但股价下跌
. . . c a G e n e r a l i dì sì jì dù yè jì chuàng jì lù dàn gǔ jià xià diē
... ca Generali posted record fourth-quarter results, but shares fell
...结束后,白宫放话:外交手段是特朗普首选,但..
. . . jié shù hòu , bái gōng fàng huà wài jiāo shǒu duàn shì tè lǎng pǔ shǒu xuǎn , dàn . .
... After it was over, the White House let it be known: diplomacy was Trump's first choice, but...
国际原子能机构:美伊会谈取得进展但“时间不多了”
guó jì yuán zǐ néng jī gòu měi yī huì tán qǔ dé jìn zhǎn dàn shí jiān bù duō le
IAEA: U.S.-Iran talks make progress but "time is running out"
有什么你想要但是没有的东西吗？
Yǒu shénme nǐ xiǎngyào dànshì méiyǒu de dōngxi ma?
Is there anything you want that you don't have?
对不起，但图书馆在哪里？
Duìbuqǐ, dàn túshūguǎn zài nǎlǐ?
Excuse me, but where is the library?
但是我不会烤烤肉串！
Dànshì wǒ bù huì kǎo kǎoròu chuàn!
But I don't know how to cook kebabs!
这并不容易，但我一定做到的！
Zhè bìngbù róngyì, dàn wǒ yīdìng zuòdào de!
It's hard, but I'm going to make it!
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 但 (dàn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 但 and 坦?
How many strokes does 但 have?
What is the radical of 但?
What are the components of 但?
What are common words containing 但?
What characters sound the same as 但 (dàn)?
Is 但 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 但 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.