The "however" adverb "que"

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Chinese-grammar-wiki-que.jpg

却 (què) is used to indicate something was contrary to expectations, and is used in a similar way to . However, it is generally followed by a negative comment:

Structure

A + positive comment, B + 却 + negative comment

It's also important to point out that 却 is not a conjunction; it's an adverb. Practically speaking, this means that rather than joining two statements, it goes inside a statement. Specifically, it needs to come after the subject and before the verb. (Note that when you use a conjunction like 但是 it comes before the subject! 却 is different in this respect. Also, rather than replacing 但是, it can work with it to add emphasis.

Examples

In the following examples, take note that 反而 comes after the subject in each case, and that it can be used together with 但是.

  • 他 用 的 潜水 装备 都 很 专业,但是 他 的 水平 很 低。
  • 虽然 是 自己 种 的 菜,不过 味道 没有 超市 的 好。
  • 他 只有 16 岁,想法 比 20 几 岁 的 人 还 成熟。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books