què shì
nevertheless; however
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
他看起来很凶，却是很温柔的人。
tā kàn qǐlái hěn xiōng, què shì hěn wēnróu de rén.
He looks fierce, but he is actually a very gentle person.
我以为他会很生气，却是很平静。
wǒ yǐwéi tā huì hěn shēngqì, què shì hěn píngjìng.
I thought he would be very angry, but he was actually very calm.
这件事看起来很简单，却是很难。
zhè jiàn shì kàn qǐlái hěn jiǎndān, què shì hěn nán.
This matter looks simple, but it is actually very difficult.
然而 (rán'ér)
however
但是 (dànshì)
but
The Chinese word 却是 (què shì) is composed of two characters: 却 (què) and 是 (shì). The character 却 originally meant "to turn back" or "to retreat", but it has also been used to mean "but" or "however". The character 是 is a copula, which means it links a subject and a predicate. In the word 却是, the character 却 is used in its adversative sense, and the character 是 is used to emphasize the contrast between two statements. Therefore, the word 却是 can be translated as "but" or "however".For example, the sentence "我想要买这本书，但是我没有钱" (wǒ xiǎng yào mǎi zhè běn shū, dànshì wǒ méiyǒu qián) means "I want to buy this book, but I don't have any money". In this sentence, the word 但是 (dànshì) is used to connect the two contrasting statements "我想要买这本书" (wǒ xiǎng yào mǎi zhè běn shū) and "我没有钱" (wǒ méiyǒu qián). The word 却是 could also be used in this sentence, and it would have the same meaning.The word 却是 is a very common word in Chinese, and it is used in a variety of contexts. It is important to understand the etymology of this word in order to understand its meaning and how it is used.
