connective N4 common casual
だけど — but / however
だけど
Builds on だ
Meaning
- but / however — a casual contrastive connective, opening a sentence or following one to set up an objection
Key sentence
行きたい。だけど時間がない。
I want to go. But I don't have time.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sentence-initial, or after a plain-form clause | [statement]。だけど [contrasting statement]。 | 安い。だけどおいしい |
When: Conversational. In polite/written contexts use が, けれど(も), or だが instead.
Examples
彼に何度も電話した。だけど出なかった。
I called him many times. But he didn't pick up.
難しそう。だけどやってみる。
It looks hard. Still, I'll give it a try.
Easily confused with
けれど Same 'but', register: だけど is distinctly casual; けれど is register-neutral and works in polite speech and writing too. だが Same word family (だ + が/けど), opposite registers: だけど is casual-spoken; だが is formal/written. けど けど is a clause-internal 'but' that hangs off the end of a clause (〜けど); だけど typically opens a new sentence. けど is even more clipped/casual.
See だけど in real sentences
Jengo shows だけど the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.