雖然...但係...

Although...still...

Level 2Sounds Like seoi1 jin4 . . . daan6 hai6 . . .

In English, it is grammatically incorrect to use 'Although' and 'but' in the same sentence. In Cantonese, however, it is the exact opposite: you usually pair 雖然 (seoi1 jin4) with a contrast word such as 但係 (daan6 hai6) or 都 (dou1), although 雖然 itself is often dropped.

How It Works

The 雖然 (seoi1 jin4)...但係 (daan6 hai6)... structure is a 'correlative conjunction' pair. In Cantonese, these pairs act like a frame for the sentence.

1. Cantonese Alternatives & Omission:
While 雖然 (seoi1 jin4) is standard, Cantonese speakers frequently use more colloquial versions to start the sentence:

雖然話 (seoi1 jin4 waa6): 'Granted that...' or 'While it may be true that...'. The 話 (waa6) acts as a modal particle acknowledging a fact; no one actually has to have 'said' it out loud.
雖則 (seoi1 zak1): A very common spoken alternative to 'although'.
雖則話 (seoi1 zak1 waa6): Similar to 雖然話, used to concede a point before contrasting it.

In natural spoken Cantonese, the first half (雖然/雖則) is frequently dropped entirely, relying only on the second clause's transition word to show the contrast. Note that dropping 雖然 does not change the sentence structure or subject placement rules.

2. Subject Placement:
Where you put 雖然 (seoi1 jin4) depends on the subjects of your two clauses:

Same subject in both clauses: 雖然 can go before or after the subject. For example: 雖然佢好忙，但係佢都有嚟 (seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hou2 mong4, daan6 hai6 keoi5 dou1 jau5 lai4) or 佢雖然好忙，但係佢都有嚟 (keoi5 seoi1 jin4 hou2 mong4, daan6 hai6 keoi5 dou1 jau5 lai4) 'Although he is busy, he still came'.
Different subjects: 雖然 usually goes before the first subject. For example: 雖然佢好忙，但係我都想請佢幫手 (seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hou2 mong4, daan6 hai6 ngo5 dou1 soeng2 cing2 keoi5 bong1 sau2) 'Although he is busy, I still want to ask him for help'. You can also put the subject first; in Chinese linguistics, this is a standard Topic-Comment structure where the first subject is elevated to the topic of the sentence.

3. The Second Clause:
In Cantonese, you normally include a transition word in the second half. These fall into two categories that can be used alone or combined:

Conjunctions (placed before the subject): 但係 (daan6 hai6) (but) — often shortened to just 但 (daan6) in spoken Cantonese — or 不過 (bat1 gwo3) (however). Note that 但係 (daan6 hai6) is colloquial and is typically replaced by 但是 (daan6 si6) or 可是 (ho2 si6) in formal written contexts (Standard Written Chinese), whereas 不過 (bat1 gwo3) is standard in both spoken Cantonese and written Chinese.
Adverbs (placed immediately before the verb or adjective): 都 (dou1) (still/anyway), 仲 (zung6) (still/even), 都係 (dou1 hai6) (still/nevertheless), 仲係 (zung6 hai6) (still/nevertheless), or 照 (ziu3) / 照樣 (ziu3 joeng6) (anyway/regardless).

Here are some examples of these adverbs in action:
- 仲 (zung6) / 仲係 (zung6 hai6): Emphasizes that a situation persists despite the first clause. Example: 雖然好貴，佢仲係買咗 (seoi1 jin4 hou2 gwai3, keoi5 zung6 hai6 maai5 zo2) 'Although it's expensive, he still bought it'.
- 照 (ziu3) / 照樣 (ziu3 joeng6): Emphasizes doing something anyway, regardless of the obstacle. Example: 雖然落雨，佢照出街 (seoi1 jin4 lok6 jyu5, keoi5 ziu3 ceot1 gaai1) 'Although it's raining, he's going out anyway'.

You can combine them (e.g., 但係佢都... 'but he still...'). In fact, combining the conjunction and adverb into 但係...都... is the standard and most common pairing used by native speakers. You can also drop the conjunction entirely and just use the adverb. For example: 雖然佢好忙，佢都有嚟 (seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hou2 mong4, keoi5 dou1 jau5 lai4) 'Although he is busy, he still came'.

Formal Written Chinese Note: In formal written contexts, the adverb 卻 (koek3) is frequently used in the second clause instead of 都 to mean 'however/yet' (e.g., 雖然...卻...).

Important: The Double Omission Trap. While you can drop the first half (雖然) or the conjunction (但係), you should not leave the second clause completely bare. It normally contains at least one correlative marker—either the conjunction or the adverb. Saying 雖然佢好忙，佢有嚟 (seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hou2 mong4, keoi5 jau5 lai4) sounds unnatural; you must say 佢都有嚟 (keoi5 dou1 jau5 lai4) or 但係佢有嚟 (daan6 hai6 keoi5 jau5 lai4).

Note: When the subject is the same in both clauses, Cantonese speakers frequently drop the subject in the second clause, though keeping it is also perfectly natural. For example: 雖然佢好忙，但係都有嚟 (seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hou2 mong4, daan6 hai6 dou1 jau5 lai4) 'Although he is busy, [he] still came'.

Examples (4)

雖然呢件衫好貴，但係好靚。
Although this shirt is expensive, it is very beautiful.
Word by Word: Although this piece [of] shirt very expensive, but very beautiful.
A classic example using the full pair to contrast price and beauty.
雖然唔係好大件事，你都唔應該瞞住我。
Although it's not a big deal, you still shouldn't hide it from me.
Word by Word: Although not is very big matter, you also not should hide [durative] me.
In this version, the subject is omitted in the first clause for naturalness, and the second clause uses 都 (dou1) to mean 'still'.
雖則落緊大雨，佢都仲係要行山。
Although it's raining hard, he still insists on going hiking.
Word by Word: Although fall [progressive] big rain, he still is want go walk mountain.
This example uses 雖則 (seoi1 zak1), a common Cantonese alternative to 雖然 (seoi1 jin4), along with 緊 (gan2) for the ongoing rain.
雖則話我好攰，但係仲未想瞓覺。
Even though I am very tired, I don't want to sleep yet.
Word by Word: Although say I very tired, but still not-yet want sleep.
Uses the colloquial phrase 雖則話 (seoi1 zak1 waa6) to introduce the concession, combined with 未 (mei6) to show an unfinished state.

Common Mistakes

Omitting the second conjunction (the 'English-transfer' error).
雖然佢好忙，佢嚟咗。
雖然佢好忙，但係佢都嚟咗。
In Cantonese the second clause after 雖然 normally opens with 但係 (or has 都). Without it, the sentence can sound unfinished, though speakers sometimes leave it out.
Using 雖然 (seoi1 jin4) for an ‘even if’ that is not a fact.
Different Meaning雖然聽日落雨，我都會去。
就算聽日落雨，我都會去。
雖然聽日落雨，我都會去 is a good sentence when rain is already known or forecast: ‘although it will rain’. For a possible rain, ‘even if it rains’, use 就算 (zau6 syun3).

How It Connects

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雖然...但係...Level 2Although...still...

Learn This First

To learn '雖然...但係...' (Although... still...), you first need to understand the basic contrastive marker '但係' (but). You should also be familiar with the adverb '都' (also/still), as it frequently appears in the second clause to reinforce the contrast. Finally, a basic grasp of how Cantonese links two clauses together is necessary to form these complex sentences correctly.

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