LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 26, 2026

But in Japanese: でも, けど, が, しかし — which one goes where

In the basic "but" use, でも opens a new sentence, けど and が join two clauses inside one sentence, and しかし is the formal sentence-opener — but が and けど can also lead into a request or end a sentence.

A dictionary gives you one English word, "but", and a pile of Japanese ones. What it does not show is that most of them have a home position. Learn the two main positions first, and the rest becomes a question of tone and job.

The basics

Which "but" words open a sentence, and which join clauses?

For the basic contrast, でも opens a new sentence, while けど and が sit right after the first clause and glue the two halves together. Here is one thought built three ways:

今日きょうは寒さむいです。でも、散歩さんぽに行いきます。 — It's cold today. But I'm going for a walk. (neutral spoken, two sentences) 寒さむいけど、散歩さんぽに行いく。 — It's cold, but I'm going for a walk. (casual, one sentence) 寒さむいですが、散歩さんぽに行いきます。 — It's cold, but I'm going for a walk. (polite, one sentence)

Treat this as a starting map, not a law. It covers the classic "A, but B" meaning; the exceptions come in the next section.

  • Sentence-opening: でも, だけど, しかし, ただ / ただし, だが.
  • Clause-joining: けど, けれど(も), が, のに.

A common slip. Learners drop でも into the middle of a sentence, the way English drops "but".

✗ 寒さむいでも、散歩さんぽに行いく。 ✓ 寒さむいけど、散歩さんぽに行いく。 (or: 寒さむい。でも、散歩さんぽに行いく。)

でも cannot glue two clauses. End the first sentence and open again with でも, or glue with けど. The mirror image: a written sentence that starts with plain けど often reads as if the first half is missing, although in speech it works as an afterthought.

How does the word attach to what comes before it?

けど, が and のに all follow a complete clause. Their endings differ with the word type before them:

Before it けど のに
noun 学生がくせいだけど 学生がくせいなのに
な-adjective 静しずかだけど 静しずかなのに
い-adjective 寒さむいけど 寒さむいのに
verb 行いくけど 行いくのに

Notice that だけど needs だ, so it appears after nouns and な-adjectives only. That is why 寒さむいだけど is wrong. The same word, だけど, is also a sentence-opener that picks up the previous sentence.

How are けど and が different?

Both follow plain and polite forms alike. けど is more conversational; が is more common in writing and in formal speech.

眠ねむいけど、宿題しゅくだいを終おわらせたい。 — I'm sleepy, but I want to finish my homework. (casual) 眠ねむいですけど、宿題しゅくだいを終おわらせたいです。 — I'm sleepy, but I want to finish my homework. (polite) 駅えきは遠とおいが、道みちはわかりやすい。 — The station is far, but the route is easy to follow. (written, plain form + が)

けど also softens requests and refusals; that is a big job with its own article, what けど really means. Here we only compare where it sits.

Can が and けど end a sentence?

Yes, and this is where "middle slot" stops being true. が can also lead into a question or request, and either word can close a sentence, leaving the rest unsaid.

すみませんが、駅えきはどこですか。 — Excuse me, where is the station? (polite lead-in; no contrast at all) 予約よやくしたいのですが。 — I'd like to make a reservation. (polite, the sentence ends on が)

So が can introduce a contrast, or work as a lead-in to a question or request. The way to tell is meaning: if no contrast is expressed, it is a lead-in.

What does しかし do that でも doesn't?

しかし opens a sentence like でも, but it is the formal choice and is mostly seen in essays, news, speeches and business documents.

この店みせは高たかい。しかし、料理りょうりはおいしい。 — The restaurant is pricey. However, the food is good. (written) ご意見いけんはわかりました。しかし、予算よさんには限かぎりがあります。 — I understand your opinion. However, the budget is limited. (formal; it can also sound like it sets the opinion aside)

Between friends, しかし is grammatical but stiff:

A: 映画えいが、行いかない? B: しかし、今日きょうは忙いそがしい。 (stiff in this scene) A: 映画えいが、行いかない? B: でも、今日きょうは忙いそがしいんだ。 (natural)

This is a tendency, not a ban: しかし can be a joke or a deliberate pose. For choosing the level of speech overall, see when to switch between keigo and casual Japanese.

Beyond the basics

What do ただ, ただし and だが add?

These are not softer or harder versions of でも. ただ and ただし add a caveat or condition. だが is a contrast word that tends to appear in written narration and dramatic dialogue.

ただ、一ひとつだけ注意ちゅういしてください。 — There is just one thing to watch out for, so please be careful. (polite, adds a caveat) ただし、返品へんぴんは一週間いっしゅうかん以内いないです。 — However, returns must be made within one week. (written notice, adds a condition) だが、それがどうした。 — But so what? (dramatic, as in a rival's retort)

What about でも when you disagree?

A bare でも at the start of a reply can sound like a direct rebuttal, depending on tone and relationship. In polite settings, ですが plus a cushion is the safer opening. The full toolkit is in how to disagree politely in Japanese.

確たしかにそうですが、時間じかんが足たりないと思おもいます。 — That's true, but I think we don't have enough time. (polite, soft disagreement)

How do you tell the two kinds of でも apart?

There is a second でも, a particle that means "even" or "or something". Ask two questions: is it attached to a noun or a question word, and is it answering the sentence before it? A particle でも attaches to a word; the "but" でも reacts to the previous statement.

お茶ちゃでも飲のみませんか。 — Shall we have some tea or something? (polite invitation, "or something") この問題もんだいは子供こどもでも分わかります。 — Even a child can understand this problem. (polite, "even") このドアは誰だれでも開あけられます。 — Anyone can open this door. (neutral, question word + でも = "any-") 今いまからでも間に合まにあいます。 — You can still make it, even starting now. (neutral, でも after another particle)

Question words plus でも give "any-" words: 誰だれでも, いつでも, どこでも, 何なんでも. The 何なに version has many tricks of its own: see 何なんでも and the "anything" family.

Punctuation helps only a little. A comma after でも often shows the "but" reading, but a writer who leaves the comma out still means "but".

A common slip. Commas are inserted around a particle でも, and the sentence turns into three little pieces.

✗ 初心者しょしんしゃ、でも、できます。 (the commas cut でも loose from 初心者しょしんしゃ, so it is not the intended "even a beginner" sentence) ✓ 初心者しょしんしゃでもできます。 — Even a beginner can do it.

What does のに add?

のに marks an outcome that goes against expectations, often with surprise or disappointment. It can also express friendly surprise. けど itself does not require that feeling.

ちゃんと勉強べんきょうしたのに、落おちた。 — I studied properly, and still I failed. (casual, disappointment) 約束やくそくしたのに、来こなかった。 — They promised, and yet they didn't come. (casual; the original gives no subject) 小ちいさいのに、よく食たべるね。 — You're small, but you eat a lot, don't you! (casual, surprise with warmth)

One practical limit: what follows のに is usually a fact, not a request or an invitation. For those, use けど.

✗ 寒さむいのに、散歩さんぽに行いきましょう。 (an invitation after のに sounds odd) ✓ 寒さむいけど、散歩さんぽに行いきましょう。 — It's cold, but let's go for a walk.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting that だけど needs だ. 行いくだけど and 寒さむいだけど are both wrong. After verbs and い-adjectives, use plain けど.
  • Opening every written sentence with しかし to sound formal. A paragraph where each sentence starts with it reads like a stack of clauses. Vary it with ただし, or drop the connector.
  • Treating the middle slot as a rule with no exceptions. Hearing 予約よやくしたいんですけど as "broken" because nothing follows is a common reaction. The sentence is finished; the ending is the request.

Where each word goes

Word Position Main job Where you tend to meet it
でも sentence-opening plain contrast everyday speech, informal writing
だけど sentence-opening contrast, picks up the previous sentence casual speech
しかし sentence-opening contrast, formal essays, speeches, news
ただ / ただし sentence-opening adds a caveat or condition notices, careful explanations
だが sentence-opening or joining contrast, plain-style written narration, dramatic speech
けど joining, or sentence-final contrast, softening conversation
けれど(も) joining, or sentence-final the longer form of けど speech and writing
が joining, lead-in, or sentence-final contrast, polite lead-in polite speech, writing
のに joining unexpected result, often with feeling casual speech

Practice

Do the position questions first, then the formal/casual pair, then the two kinds of でも.

1. Choose でも or けど: 台風たいふうが来きています。___、電車でんしゃは動うごいています。

Show answer

でも — the first sentence has ended, and でも opens a new one.

2. Choose でも or けど: 台風たいふうが来きています___、電車でんしゃは動うごいています。

Show answer

けど (or が) — the blank joins two clauses into one sentence, which is what けど and が do.

3. Which one is wrong, and why? (a) 重おもいけど、運はこびます。(b) 重おもいでも、運はこびます。

Show answer

(b) — でも cannot join two clauses. Use 重おもいけど, or split: 重おもい。でも、運はこびます。

4. A manager is giving a speech: 売り上うりあげは伸のびました。___、課題かだいもあります。Choose でも or しかし.

Show answer

しかし — the formal, speech-like setting makes しかし the usual choice. でも would be understood, but it is more conversational.

5. You turn down a friend's concert invitation: 行いきたい。___、お金かねがないんだ。Choose でも or しかし.

Show answer

でも (or だけど) — casual chat. しかし would be grammatical but stiff.

6. Which でも means "even"? (a) 日曜日にちようびでも店みせは開ひらいています。(b) 眠ねむかった。でも、走はしった。

Show answer

(a) — でも is attached to the noun 日曜日にちようび: "Even on Sunday, the shop is open." In (b), でも responds to the previous sentence, with a full stop before it and a comma after it, so it means "but".

7. Say "Even a beginner can read this sign."

Show answer

初心者しょしんしゃでもこの看板かんばんが読よめます — でも goes straight onto the noun 初心者しょしんしゃ.

8. Say "Shall we have curry or something?"

Show answer

カレーでも食たべませんか — でも after a noun in an invitation gives "or something".

9. Which sentence is natural? (a) 疲つかれているのに、早はやく寝ねましょう。(b) 疲つかれているから、早はやく寝ねましょう。

Show answer

(b) — a suggestion after のに sounds odd. For a "so" statement, から fits; for a "but" suggestion, use けど.

10. Which gives an "unexpected result" meaning? 朝早あさはやく起おきた___、電車でんしゃに乗のり遅おくれた。Choose けど or のに.

Show answer

のに — it marks a result that went against what you expected, with disappointment. けど would report the contrast more neutrally.

FAQ

Can I say けど、でも together? Yes, in conversation, for emphasis, as in 好すきなんだけど、でも… In formal writing it reads as a double "but".

Is けれども more polite than けど? Slightly. けれども is the longer, more careful form, けれど is in the middle, and けど is the shortest. They sit in the same positions.

What is the difference between でも and それでも? それでも means "even so" or "still". It points back at what was just said and says the outcome does not change. Plain でも only marks contrast.

Can I end a sentence with のに? Yes. 行いくって言いったのに… leaves the complaint unspoken. The sentence stops where the feeling begins.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab.

でも	でも — but; even; or something
けど	けど — but (casual)
が	が — but; lead-in; subject marker
しかし	しかし — however (formal)
だが	だが — but (literary)
ただし	ただし — however (adds a condition)
のに	のに — although (against expectation)
散歩	さんぽ — walk, stroll
宿題	しゅくだい — homework
予算	よさん — budget
子供	こども — child
誰でも	だれでも — anyone
初心者	しょしんしゃ — beginner
約束	やくそく — promise
注意	ちゅうい — caution, attention
返品	へんぴん — returning goods
課題	かだい — issue, challenge
駅	えき — station
予約	よやく — reservation
料理	りょうり — food, cooking
台風	たいふう — typhoon
売り上げ	うりあげ — sales
看板	かんばん — sign, signboard
乗り遅れた	のりおくれた — missed (a train)
間に合います	まにあいます — will make it in time

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard learners ask about — including this one, because everyone mixes up でも and けど at some point. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

Want to try this in a real conversation?

30-minute trial lesson, $13. Times shown in your own timezone.

Practice it out loud with a Tokyo native. ★5.0 from 358 italki reviews.

See how the lessons work →

Book a trial lesson · $13