Level 6 · Lesson 2

虽然…但是…
Although … but …

虽然工作很辛苦，但是我很喜欢。

The concessive pair keeps both halves too — and 但是, 可是 and 不过 are three strengths of 'but'.

听 · Listen

虽然辛苦
 安娜 —  李明，你喜欢你的新工作吗？ 
Li Ming, do you like your new job?  
 李明 —  虽然很辛苦，但是我很喜欢。 
It's hard work, but I like it a lot.  
 安娜 —  你每天工作几个小时？ 
How many hours a day do you work?  
 李明 —  九个小时。可是同事都很好，所以我不累。 
Nine hours. But my colleagues are all lovely, so I'm not tired.  
 安娜 —  钱多不多？ 
Does it pay well?  
 李明 —  钱不多，不过我学到了很多东西。 
Not much, though I've learnt a great deal.  
 安娜 —  我明白了。虽然辛苦，但是很有意思。 
I see. Hard, but interesting.  
 李明 —  对。虽然我每天都很忙，可是我不想换工作。 
Right. I'm busy every day, but I don't want to change jobs.  

讲解 · Explanation

虽然很辛苦，但是我很喜欢。

Your English teacher told you never to write 'although …, but …'. In Chinese that is exactly the correct sentence. 虽然 opens the half you concede — the part that might have put you off — and 但是 opens the half that actually counts. Leaving 但是 out is what sounds unfinished here, as if you had stopped mid-thought.

他虽然很忙，但是每天都锻炼。虽然他很忙，但是每天都锻炼。

虽然 may stand before or after the subject, and both sentences above are good Chinese. 但是 has no such freedom: it always stands first in its own clause, before that clause's subject. And 虽然 can never open a fresh sentence by itself — it is a promise that a second half is coming.

我想去，但是没时间。我想去，可是没时间。我想去，不过今天没时间。

Three strengths of 'but'. 但是 is the neutral one, at home in speech and in writing. 可是 is warmer and more spoken — you will hear it constantly in conversation. 不过 is the mildest: a small correction rather than a real objection, and it is the one that most easily opens a new sentence on its own.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
虽然	although	虽然…，但是/可是… ; before or after the subject
但是	but, however	neutral; always first in its clause
可是	but	口语 — warmer, more spoken than 但是
不过	but, only	the mildest; often opens a new sentence
辛苦	hard, tiring	工作很辛苦；辛苦了！ thanks someone for their effort

练习 · Practice

虽然今天下雨，______ 我去了公园。 Although it rained today, I went to the park.

工作很辛苦。______ 我很喜欢这个工作。 Which word can start this second sentence on its own?

他 ______ 很累，但是没休息。 He was tired, but he didn't rest.

虽然钱不多，______ 我学到了很多东西。 Fill in the second half of the pair.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Although he is busy, he isn't tired.'

用一用 · Use it

虽然我的工作很辛苦，但是我很喜欢。虽然汉语很难，可是很有意思。

Say three sentences aloud about things that are hard but worth it: your work or your study, the weather where you live, and one place you go to anyway. Use 但是 in the first, 可是 in the second, and finish the third with a small 不过 correction — 我想去，不过今天没时间.