可是

Chinese

		can; may; able to can; may; able to; certain(ly); to suit; (particle used for emphasis)	be; yes; this
simp. and trad. (可是)		可	是

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): kěshì

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄜˇ ㄕˋ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic): кәсы (kəsɨ, I-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ho² si⁶
• Min Nan (POJ): khó-sī / khóⁿ-sǐ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: kěshì
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄜˇ ㄕˋ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: keeshyh
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kěshìh
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic: кәсы (kəsɨ, I-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰə²⁴ sz̩²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: ho² si⁶
    • Yale: hó sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ho² si⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ho² xi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː³⁵ siː²²/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khó-sī
    • Tâi-lô: khó-sī
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qoysi
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰo⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ɕi³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰo⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ɕi²²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰɤ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ ɕi³³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khóⁿ-sǐ
    • Tâi-lô: khónn-sǐ
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰɔ̃⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ ɕi²²/

Conjunction

可是

1. however; but

   我不是中國人可是我會說普通話。 [MSC, trad.]
   我不是中国人可是我会说普通话。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ bù shì zhōngguórén kěshì wǒ huì shuō pǔtōnghuà. [Pinyin]

   I am not Chinese but I can speak Mandarin Chinese.

   《我很醜可是我很溫柔》 [MSC, trad.]
   《我很丑可是我很温柔》 [MSC, simp.]

   “Wǒ Hěn Chǒu Kěshì Wǒ Hěn Wēnróu” [Pinyin]

   "I am Ugly, but I am Gentle" (a 1988 song by Chief Chao)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 但是 (“but; however”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		但是, 但, 可是, 不過, 然而
Mandarin	Taiwan	但是, 但, 可是, 不過
	Malaysia	但
	Singapore	但, 但是, 可是, 不過
	Pematangsiantar	tapi
Cantonese	Guangzhou	但係, 不過, 之不過, 之但係
	Hong Kong	但係, 不過, 之不過, 之但係
	Taishan	但係
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	但係
	Singapore (Guangfu)	但係, 不過, 之不過
Hakka	Meixian	但係, 董係
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	但係, 毋過
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	但係, 毋過
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	但係, 毋過
	Dongshi (Dabu)	但係, 毋過
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	但係, 毋過
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	毋過
	Senai (Huiyang)	但係
	Kuching (Hepo)	tapi
Min Dong	Matsu	但是
Min Nan	Xiamen	但是, 毋過, 毋句, 不過, 不而過
	Quanzhou	但是, 毋句, 不過, 不而過
	Zhangzhou	但是, 毋過, 不過, 不而過
	Taipei	但是, 毋過, 不而過
	Penang (Hokkien)	tapi, 但是
	Singapore (Hokkien)	tapi, 但是
	Manila (Hokkien)	但是, 毋句, 毋過
	Medan (Hokkien)	tapi
	Bangkok (Teochew)	但是, แต่ว่า
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	但是, tapi
	Singapore (Teochew)	tapi, 不過, 但是
	Wenchang	但是
	Qionghai	但是
Wu	Shanghai	但是, 必過, 不過

Adverb

可是

1. used for emphasis

   你這麼說可是冤枉你父親了。 [MSC, trad.]
   你这么说可是冤枉你父亲了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ zhème shuō kěshì yuānwang nǐ fùqīn le. [Pinyin]

   You are doing your father wrong by speaking like this.

   這可是你大顯身手的好機會呀。 [MSC, trad.]
   这可是你大显身手的好机会呀。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè kěshì nǐ dàxiǎnshēnshǒu de hǎo jīhuì ya. [Pinyin]

   This is a good opportunity for you to show off your skills.