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	Beijing	但是, 但, 可是, 不過
	Taiwan	但是, 但, 可是, 不過
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
Hakka	Meixian	但係
	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
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
	Philippines (Manila Hokkien)	但是, 毋句
	Medan (Hokkien)	tapi
	Thailand (Bangkok Teochew)	但是, แต่ว่า
Wu	Shanghai	但是, 必過, 不過