How to say 'But' in Japanese | 然し

word

Meaning

But

Reading

Kanji

然Sort of thing, In that case

Explanation

The Japanese conjunction '然し (しかし)' means 'but' and is used to introduce a statement that contrasts with or contradicts what has been said previously. It is a formal and slightly literary way of expressing contrast, often used in written language or formal speech. For example: I wanted to go, but I couldn't「行きたかったが、しかし行けなかった」(いきたかったが、しかしいけなかった). He is young, but very talented「彼は若いが、しかしとても才能がある」(かれはわかいが、しかしとてもさいのうがある). Note that 'しかし' can sometimes be replaced with the more casual 'でも' in informal contexts.

Part Of Speech

conjunction

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

102

Composition

kanji-hiragana

Handwriting