却 (however)

• Pinyin: què
• Formation: Sentence ，(但是 +) Subject + 却 + Verb/Adjective
• Hanzi breakdown: 却 = 去 (go) + 卩 (seal/kneeling person)

Meaning

The adverb 却 (què) means 'however,' 'yet,' or 'but' and is placed before the verb to indicate that something is contrary to expectation or contrasts with the preceding statement. It adds a formal, written tone to the contrast.

却 is an adverb, not a conjunction, which means it appears inside the clause — specifically before the verb phrase — rather than between two clauses like 但是 or 可是. It is often used together with 但是 for extra emphasis, as in 但是他却不同意. While 却 and 倒 both express contrariness, 却 is more neutral and objective, simply pointing out an unexpected contrast, whereas 倒 often carries emotional coloring such as surprise or irony. 却 is common in written Chinese, news reports, and narrative prose, but it also appears in careful spoken Chinese. One common mistake is placing 却 after the verb instead of before it — 却 must always precede the main verb or adjective.

Examples

1. 他答应了，却一直没有做。 He agreed, yet never actually did it.
2. 她笑着说没事，眼睛却红了。 She smiled and said it was fine, but her eyes had turned red.
3. 我叫了他好几次，他却假装没听见。 I called him several times, but he pretended not to hear.

Usage Guide

Context: written, formal speech, narrative

Tone: contrastive

Do Say

• 他嘴上说支持，行动上却完全相反。
• 这道菜看起来普通，吃起来却非常好吃。
• 时间过得很快，他却觉得每一天都很漫长。

Don't Say

• 他去了却商店。(却 must be placed before the verb, not between the verb and the object) → 他却去了商店。
• 却他不来。(却 is an adverb that must follow the subject, not precede it — use 但是 at the start of a clause instead) → 但是他不来。
• 他却了同意。(却 cannot take 了 — it is an adverb, not a verb) → 他却同意了。

Origin & History

却 in classical Chinese meant 'to retreat' or 'to turn back.' Its grammatical evolution into an adverb of contrast stems from the idea of 'turning away' from an expected direction, signaling that what follows goes against what was anticipated.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal